Vettel tops Bottas as F1 testing begins

Formula 1 pre-season testing got under way Monday in Barcelona, with Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari (above) taking honors for fast time in the morning session.

Ferrari and Mercedes both enjoyed trouble-free starts to the new year, putting in a combined 141 laps the pace of which suggested that the new rules will indeed produce an increase in speeds. Vettel's best lap of 1m22.791s, set on on medium Pirelli tires, is already faster than the overall best during the first four days of last year's first pre-season test at this track. New Mercedes recruit Valtteri Bottas (pictured) wound up 0.37s slower after trading fast laps with Vettel through the morning.

After Bottas put in 79 laps in the W08 this morning, three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took over driving duties for Mercedes for the afternoon session. With Hamilton, the new Mercedes appeared with a more pronounced shark fin than seen in its launch last week.

McLaren's first test runs with its MCL32 were cut short by an oil system fault, but Fernando Alonso returned to action in the afternoon.

Kevin Magnussen had a tough start with Haas. Magnussen managed just seven installation laps before returning to the pits, and after returning to the track he locked his rear wheels entering Turn 10, spun and hit the barriers with the new VF-17.

More details to follow.