Stevens finishes final pre-season test on top

Photo: World Series by Renault

Briton Will Stevens set the quickest time of the final day of pre-season testing for Formula Renault 3.5 at Barcelona, topping the timesheets in the afternoon session after Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne reigned supreme in the morning.

Vandoorne’s teammate Oliver Webb completed a 1-2 in testing for Fortec in the morning, less than a tenth off his partner. Kevin Magnussen was, yet again, third, followed by Stevens and Antonio Felix da Costa.

“We had a few little scares yesterday every time we went out on slicks, but our two fastest times this morning showed we were on the right track,” said Vandoorne at the end of the day. “Oliver Webb is feeling more and more at ease and that?s creating some healthy competition in the team. I didn?t go out with much downforce this afternoon because I wanted to get familiar with the Monza set-up. I wasn?t really looking for performance.”

AV Formula’s Arthur Pic was sixth in the morning, followed by Carlos Huertas and Zoel Amberg. Christopher Zanella, who recently completed ISR’s 2013 lineup, was ninth ahead of Marco Sorensen.

With morning leader Vandoorne opting not to run much in the afternoon, it was Stevens who managed the fastest time, edging out title favorites Magnussen, Felix da Costa and Sorensen. Draco’s Nico Muller completed the top five ahead of Sergey Sirotkin and Nigel Melker. Huertas, Jazeman Jaafar and Pic rounded out the top ten.

Morning session

Afternoon session