2018 BARCELONA I TEST SESSSION: VETTEL AND FERRARI ON TOP

Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari ended the second day of official Formula 1 winter testing top, taking the torch from day one leaders Aston Martin Red Bull Racing. Vettel’s time of a 1 minute 19.673 seconds, set on a set of soft Pirelli tyres, was over three-tenths faster than Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport‘s Valtteri Bottas with Stoffel Vandoorne ending the day a promising third for the McLaren F1 Team – a further three-tenths behind Bottas.

Another day of cold conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw several drivers experience major problems with grip as air temperatures started the morning below freezing. Snow fell late in the day, putting an end to the serious running with over an hour left. The day also saw the removal of a determined lunchbreak due to the time lost yesterday, again through cold weather.

The only other red flag of the day was caused by Vettel, who spun at Turn 1. He managed to get going without assistance and returned to the pits with the car in one piece, but the session was stopped to allow the track to be cleaned after he dragged gravel with him as he rejoined.

SECOND TEST DAY, RESULTS

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:19.673	/ (S, 98)
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:19.976	+ 0.303 (Me,94)
3	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:20.325	+ 0.652 (HS,37)
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:20.326	+ 0.653 (Мe,67)
5	Carlos Sainz JR.	Renault	1:21.212	+ 1.539 (S,65)
6	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:21.318	+ 1.645 (S,82)
7	Robert Kubica	Williams	1:21.495	+ 1.822 (S,48)
8	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:21.822	+ 2.149 (S,52)
9	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:21.841	+ 2.168 (S,79)
10	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:22.721	+ 3.048 (S,81)
11	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:22.727	+ 3.054 (S,36)

HS - HyperSoft US - UltraSoft SS - SuperSoft
S - Soft Ме - Medium
H - Hard SH - SuperHard

SUMMARY RESULTS FROM LAST YEAR TEST SESSION

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:19.705	/ (US)
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:19.952	+ 0.247 (S)
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:20.872	+ 1.167 (S)
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:20.983	+ 1.278 (SS)
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:21.153	+ 1.448 (S)
6	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:21.369	+ 1.664 (S)
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:21.769	+ 2.064 (S)
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:21.791	+ 2.086 (S)
9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:21.824	+ 2.119 (SS)
10	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:22.076	+ 2.371 (Me)
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:22.118	+ 2.415 (SS)
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:22.204	+ 2.499 (SS)
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:22.351	+ 2.646 (S)
14	Antonio Giovinacci	Sauber	1:22.401	+ 2.696 (US)
15	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:22.509	+ 2.804 (SS)
16	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:22.534	+ 2.829 (SS)
17	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:22.576	+ 2.871 (US)
18	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:22.598	+ 2.893 (US)
19	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:22.956	+ 3.251 (S)
20	Carlos Sainz JR.	Toro Rosso	1:23.540	+ 3.835 (Ме)
21	Alfonso Celis	Force India	1:23.568	+ 3.863 (SS)

US - UltraSoft SS - SuperSoft S - Soft Me - Medium