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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 7:17 a.m., Monday, February 9, 2009

Autos: Red Bull Racing's car makes debut in Spain

Associated Press

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain — Red Bull Racing's car for the 2009 Formula One season made its track debut Monday.

Sebastian Vettel, a German who moved to Red Bull from sister team Toro Rosso, was the first driver to get behind the wheel of the RB5 and drive around the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

"It's good that we got the car running without any major problems, but it's much too early to say anything about performance," Vettel said after a few laps. "Now we are concentrating on checking all the systems, which are very different to those on last year's car."

Vettel is expected to again drive the car Tuesday, with Mark Webber getting his turn Wednesday. The Australian broke his leg in a cycling accident last November.

"I thought I'd let Seb do the boring installation laps and the running-in," Webber said. "Wednesday's run will be as much a test for me as for the car, as it will be my first go in an F1 car since I broke my leg."