Sebastian Vettel fastest so far in second F1 test, but top three remain close

Sebastian Vettel’s time of 1min20.396sec, set on medium tyres, put him at the top of the leaderboard on day one of the second Formula 1 pre-season test. He completed the highest number of laps, 86, on Tuesday morning.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas filed in second on softs with a time of 1min20.596sec, two tenths behind the leading Ferrari, having completed 85 laps. That tally was matched by third-place Max Verstappen, whose fastest time was a 1min20.649sec on medium tyres, ahead of Toro Rosso’s soft-shod Pierre Gasly.

Force India completed a handful of laps, 37 down at lunch, as Sergio Pérez spun in the gravel early on to put himself ninth in the standings. McLaren had a difficult morning with supersoft-equipped Stoffel Vandoorne in last place. Vandoorne’s MCL33 broke down on track after just six laps with a power unit failure, though he emerged with minutes of the morning session remaining to set an installation lap.