Jerez Test, Day 2: Vettel quickest again as McLaren, Red Bull struggle

Sebastian Vettel kept Ferrari at the top of the day two timesheets in Jerez with the four-time champion lowering his day one benchmark by almost two seconds before rain disrupted the final hour of the session.

McLaren, meanwhile, continued to struggle, with Jenson Button completing just six laps as the team puzzled over its new Honda-powered MP4-30. The Briton managed a single timed lap all day, with that being some 33 seconds off the pace set by Vettel.

It was a frustrating day for Vettel’s former team Red Bull Racing, too. Daniil Kvyat took over from Daniel Ricciardo at the wheel of the RB11 but a minor off just as the Russian began running led to a damaged front wing. With no replacement wing at the track the Russian was restricted to slow, single-lap, untimed runs without a front wing as the team worked through systems checks.

Vettel, though, looked increasingly comfortable at the wheel of Ferrari SF15-T. The German was quick out of the blocks and an hour into the session he was back in control of the timesheet with a time of 1:21.926. The German continued to improve and soon after posted a lap of 1:20.984 on medium tyres, which would remain the day’s fastest time.

Second place on the timesheet went to another Ferrari-powered machine, with new Sauber signing Felipe Nasr getting to within nine tenths of Vettel’s benchmark. The Brazilian driver also competed 88 laps for the Swiss outfit.

At Williams, Valtteri Bottas enjoyed another solid outing at the wheel of the team’s FW37. The Finn got through 61 laps of the Circuit de Jerez and recorded the day’s third-fastest time of 1:22.319.

On day one of the test Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg reminded rivals of just why Mercedes are still the team to beat by delivering 157 trouble-free laps. Lewis Hamilton didn’t get near that total on his first outing at the wheel of the team’s W06 challenger as a water leak in the afternoon cut short his running, but his 91 laps still represented the day’s largest total. He finished the session in fourth spot with a time of 1:22.490, 1.5s adrift of Vettel’s best time.

Nonetheless, Mercedes now has 1,098 kilometres on the board after just two days. The general rule of thumb for the 12 days of winter testing is that 4,000 to 4,500 km is the target mileage. Last year Mercedes covered 4,973km in the winter tests.

At Toro Rosso, 17-year-old Max Verstappen took from Carlos Sainz Jr at the wheel of the STR10 and Formula One’s youngest driver logged a decent total of 73 laps to finish fifth on the timesheet.

After missing the first day due to the late arrival of its new car, Lotus completed the build of the E23 overnight and after a cautious start Pastor Maldonado was able to complete 41 laps, the Venezuelan running progressively faster throughout the day. However, a drive-train issue in the afternoon ending his day’s work early and brought out the day’s only red flag as he stopped on track before the final corner.

A late rain shower disrupted the final hour of the session and only Verstappen, Vettel, Nasr and Button tested the wet conditions before the session ended.

Formula One Testing, Jerez – Day Two

1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:20.984s 88 Laps

2 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:21.867s 0.883s 89

3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:22.319s 1.335s 61

4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:22.490s 1.506s 91

5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:24.167s 3.183s 73

6 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:25.802s 4.818s 41

7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:54.655s 33.671s 6