F1 Testing: Vettel fastest on day two morning with ultra-soft tires

Vettel making headlines now while Mercedes sandbags
Vettel making headlines now while Mercedes sandbags

Sebastian Vettel turned the fastest time in the morning on the second day of pre-season Formula 1 testing before the lunch break.

Vettel finished the opening day at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya quickest on the medium compound but today he was over 2-seconds faster on Pirelli's new ultra-soft compound with a lap of 1m22.810s.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was second quick with a lap of 1m23.525s, also on purple ultra-soft tires.

Mercedes, meanwhile, continued to sandbag with Nico Rosberg putting in 81 laps in the morning running on the medium compound ties 2-seconds off the pace of Vettel. Again, Mercedes is sandbagging, doing full tank race simulation runs and not running the quicker rubber.

Force India's Sergio Perez was fourth on medium tires with a 1m25.692.

In last year's Sauber Marcus Ericsson was almost three seconds down in fifth on the soft tyre.

DAY TWO MORNING TIMES

Pos Driver Car Time Behind Laps Tire
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari/Ferrari 1m22.810ss 0.000s 46 Soft
2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/TAG Heuer 1m23.525ss 0.715s 58 Soft
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes/Mercedes 1m24.867ss 2.057s 81 Medium
4 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m25.692ss 2.882s 48 Medium
5 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m25.734ss 2.924s 49 Soft
6 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 1m25.872ss 3.062s 56 Medium
7 Pascal Wehrlein Manor/Mercedes 1m25.925ss 3.115s 36 Soft
8 Jolyon Palmer Renault/Renault 1m26.189ss 3.379s 37 Soft
9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas/Ferrari 1m26.931ss 4.121s 32 Soft
10 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m27.198ss 4.388s 71 Medium
11 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso/Ferrari 1m27.346ss 4.536s 59 Medium