LOTUS Racing completed their four-day official test at the Jerez Circuit in Spain on Saturday still rooted to the bottom of the time sheets but were brimming with confidence over the reliability of the Lotus T127 Cosworth.
Italy's Jarno Trulli completed 141 trouble-free laps on the circuit on his first day on board the new car.
It was also a day when reigning world champion Jenson Button brought his first run with new team McLaren to the top, posting the fastest time of one minute 18.871 seconds.
Renault too seemed to have got their act together after a lacklustre season last year, with Poland's Robert Kubica taking the R30 to second spot with a time of 1:19.114s.
After adjusting quickly to his new office, Trulli set to work and by the time he had completed his targeted number of laps he described the day as positive.
"I'm really happy about my first day testing with Lotus Racing and I was very lucky to have everything right on the car today (Saturday) with no major issues," said Trulli.
"We were able to put a lot of mileage on the car and get a lot of information out of it.
I had the chance to start developing a real feel for the car and it's good to be here."
Lotus Racing chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne summed up the final day in Jerez, and the total four days in Spain with notes that the targeted reliability had been achieved.
"An excellent day today, concentrating on reliability and race pace," said Gascoyne.
"141 laps from Jarno is a great effort when you consider it's his first day driving this year and also a great effort from the team who worked all night to get the car prepared.
"Overall it's been a very encouraging four days.
The main aim of the test was reliability and over the last two days of dry running we have found some directions in set up that will enable us to concentrate on the pace of the car in Barcelona."
The pre-season tests now move to the Catalunya Circuit in Barcelona from Wednesday to Saturday.
Saturday's times: 1 Jenson Button (Bri) McLaren 1:18.871s (108 laps), 2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 1:19.114s (117) , 3 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1:19.188s (117), 4 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:19.650s (80), 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:20.061s (130), 6 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:20.436s (137), 7 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso 1:21.053s (139), 8 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull Racing 1:21.194s (87), 9 Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Williams 1:21.919s (137), 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 1:22.433s (27), 11 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus 1:23.470s (141).
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