Sauber's Kobayashi leads field at F1 test in Spain

Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber beat three former world champions to lead a Formula One testing session on Thursday.

The Japanese driver, who has competed just two F1 races before this season, set a fastest lap of 1 minute, 19.950 seconds from 103 laps at Jerez Circuit to edge Sebastien Buemi of Toro Rosso by less than one-tenth of a second.

Defending champion Jenson Button of McLaren was third in 1:20.618, while seven-time champ Michael Schumacher of Mercedes GP was sixth. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, a two-time winner, was seventh after 129 laps. The three drivers focused on long runs as the damp track dried up over the course of the day.

"A new …