F1: Vettel ahead again on Monday morning

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Sebastian Vettel set the pace on the second morning of Formula 1 testing at Jerez, going faster than his day one-topping time for Ferrari.

The former Red Bull driver set a sequence of laps quick enough for top spot during run of seven flying laps on medium tires just after 10 a.m. He then returned to the track just before 11am, slashing nearly one second from his best time to post a 1m20.984s at the start of another run on mediums.

Reigning F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was the only other driver to go quicker than the best time from day one, as Mercedes again comfortably led the way in terms of laps completed.

The Lotus E23 made its debut mid-morning in the hands of Pastor Maldonado, who completed a handful of short runs in a car that was built up overnight after arriving in Spain on Monday afternoon. That running was enough to take Lotus past McLaren and Red Bull in terms of laps completed during the morning, as both teams endured a troubled time.

Red Bull's programme was severely hindered when Daniil Kvyat damaged the team's only front wing, forcing it to run the RB11 without a wing for a series of single-lap runs while it waits for a spare to arrive from its UK base.

While McLaren and Honda were hoping to make up for lost time after Fernando Alonso completed six laps on day one, Jenson Button did not enjoy any more luck as he took over for day two.

The 2009 world champion managed five laps in a rough-sounding MP4-30, but his only lap was 33 seconds off the pace as the team worked on a "recurring problem."

MONDAY MORNING TIMES:

Originally on Autosport.com