VETTEL WITH NEW CIRCUIT RECORD, THAT DON`T MEAN MUCH

For the second consecutive day, the unofficial lap record around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was broken during pre-season testing, with Sebastian Vettel becoming the first driver to ever set a time underneath seventy-eight seconds, with his best lap more than a second clear of anyone else.

The Ferrari driver clocked an impressive 188 laps, which is just 10 laps shy of three Spanish Grand Prix race distances, as team focused on gathering vital long run data after lunch. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was second in individual mileage charts with 187 on the board but down in 12th in terms of lap time.

Kevin Magnussen was second quickest for Haas with Pierre Gasly bolting on the hypersofts late in the day to vault up to third in the Toro Rosso. The Renault Sport Formula One Team again split their day between their two race drivers, with Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr. ending fourth and fifth fastest respectively, with the duo completing one hundred and forty-eight laps between them

The McLaren F1 Team had by far their most positive day of pre-season testing so far, with Stoffel Vandoorne completing one hundred and fifty-one laps in the MCL33, with his best time good enough for sixth fastest. Hamilton got ahead of Bottas on a long run on medium tyres late in the afternoon.

It is difficult to read into headline times at pre-season testing given there are too many unknown variables, such as fuel loads, however the more laps teams can do, the better they can understand their new cars ahead of the new season. So, Don't get fooled by Vettels lap record on hypersofts. Bottas race simulation this morning was around 1 second per lap quicker than Vettel and Verstappen in the afternoon.

Yesterday was Red Bull's day, today Ferrari, so it's time for tomorrow on the final test day before the start of the 2018 season and Mercedes AMG to unlock the full potential of W09.

BARCELONA II TEST, DAY 3 RESULTS

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:17.182	/ (HS, 188)
2	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:18.360	+ 1.178 (SS,153)
3	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:18.363	+ 1.181 (HS,169)
4	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:18.675	+ 1.493 (HS,79)
5	Carlos Sainz JR.	Renault	1:18.725	+ 1.543 (HS,69)
6	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:18.855	+ 1.673 (HS,151)
7	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:19.244	+ 2.062 (HS,148)
8	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:19.296	+ 2.114 (Mе,84)
9	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:19.532	+ 2.350 (Mе,97)
10	Robert Kubica	Williams	1:19.629	+ 2.447 (SS,73)
11	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:19.634	+ 2.452 (HS,159)
12	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:19.842	+ 2.660 (S,187)
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:20.262	+ 3.080 (US,67)

BARCELONA II TEST, DAY 2 RESULTS

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:18.047	/ (HS, 165)
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:18.400	+ 0.353 (US,90)
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:18.560	+ 0.515 (US,85)
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:19.541	+ 1.494 (S,67)
5	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:19.823	+ 1.776 (HS,119)
6	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:19.856	+ 1.809 (HS,57)
7	Carlos Sainz JR.	Renault	1:20.042	+ 1.995 (Me,88)
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:20.237	+ 2.190 (S,78)
9	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:20.242	+ 2.195 (S,49)
10	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:20.349	+ 2.302 (S,63)
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:20.758	+ 2.711 (SS,102)
12	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:20.805	+ 2.785 (S,130)
13	Charles Leclerk	Sauber	1:20.919	+ 2.872 (SS,160)
14	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:22.350	+ 4.303 (S,80)

BARCELONA II TEST, DAY 1 RESULTS

P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP/TIRES
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:20.396	/ (Me, 171)
2	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	1:20.596	+ 0.200 (S,86)
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:20.649	+ 0.253 (Me,130)
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	1:20.808	+ 0.412 (S,91)
5	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:20.973	+ 0.577 (S,54)
6	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:21.298	+ 0.902 (S,96)
7	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:21.432	+ 1.036 (Me,48)
8	Carlos Sainz JR.	Renault	1:21.455	+ 1.059 (S,91)
9	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:21.588	+ 1.192 (S,42)
10	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:21.643	+ 1.247 (S,93)
11	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:21.706	+ 1.310 (SS,120)
12	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:21.946	+ 1.550 (SS,38)
13	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:22.937	+ 2.541 (S,86)

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