The Spaniard will replace the Colombian at McLaren for the rest of the season.
Team mate Kimi Raikkonen was the second fastest race driver with a time of one minute 28.453 seconds.
Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa has been named the second driver at the BMW Sauber Formula One team for the 2010 season.
Spaniard Pedro De la Rosa has joined Ferrari in a development role for the 2013 season, the Italian Formula One team said on Wednesday.
Test driver Pedro de la Rosa put McLaren out in front on Friday after the first practice sessions for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The McLaren test driver said he dreamed of inheriting Fernando Alonso's vacant seat at the Formula One team next season.
Pedro de la Rosa has accused Renault of using illegal 'team orders' to help Fernando Alonso take second place at the Turkish Grand Prix.
McLaren's Spanish reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa switched over to testing duties with the Force India Formula One team at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Force India this month agreed a five-year partnership deal with McLaren and Mercedes that will see them replace their Ferrari engines with a complete drivetrain (engine and gearbox) package next season.
Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa says compatriot Fernando Alonso should have no worries about joining McLaren from Renault in 2007.
McLaren's Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa, who will not compete on Sunday, was the fastest but it was Renault's championship leader and compatriot Fernando Alonso who came closest to his time.
Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher suffered the embarrassment of being reprimanded for impeding the two slowest cars in Formula One in practice for the South Korean Grand Prix on Friday.
Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan will join Pedro de la Rosa to complete the HRT line-up for the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the Spanish team announced on Friday.
He has faced consistent mechanical issues in his HRT car but Narain Karthikeyan, the only Indian racing in Formula One, says despite problems he has proved that he has the speed to deserve a better team and a better place on the grid.
Britain's Paul di Resta is set to become a grand prix regular as Force India's reserve driver while compatriot Gary Paffett will be McLaren's main tester, according to team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
Laughing off suggestions that his race seat is in danger, veteran driver Giancarlo Fisichella hailed Force India's recent technical partnership with McLaren-Mercedes for the next year, calling it a giant leap forward by the Vijay Mallya-owned outfit.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and German Adrian Sutil will race for Force India again next season, the Formula One team has said. The pair had been confirmed for 2009 in October but a new technical deal between Force India and McLaren Mercedes led to speculation of a change with McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa testing for Force India last month.
The Finn will race for McLaren next year in a straight swap with Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who has taken his place at Renault.
The double world champion made a perfect start to his return to Renault with the fastest time in testing at the Jerez circuit.
Ferrari's 2008 cars lapped quicker than the new McLarens in Formula One's first official test of the year in Jerez.
Title contenders Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher were pushed out of the top 10.
The Indian driver placed behind Jordan test driver Robert Doornbas in Friday's practice ahead of Sunday's French Grand Prix.
New engine rules should see four drivers who will not race on Sunday providing most of the early action on track in Melbourne.
The Jordan driver finished behind teammates Portugal's Tiago Monteiro and Denmark's Nicolas Keisa.
McLaren stepped up their preparations for the new Formula One season with the track debut of their new MP4-21 car.
Formula One drivers sought reassurance from tyre supplier Pirelli on Friday after world champion Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso suffered punctures in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix.
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