Vettel Beats Hamilton’s Time in F1 Season’s First Preseason Test

Lewis Hamilton was nearly half a second slower as compared to the time clocked by Sebastian Vettel.

In a good early sign for Ferrari in its bid to challenge Mercedes in Formula One, Sebastian Vettel was faster than reigning champion Lewis Hamilton on the first day of preseason testing, on Monday.

Hamilton was the first car out, but Vettel had the quickest time at the Circuit de Barcelona. Hamilton was nearly half a second slower, and Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull was third, more than a second behind Vettel. Valtteri Bottas of Williams was fourth.

Although test times often can be misleading, especially this early, it was clearly a positive start for Vettel, who was third in the standings last year and was the only driver to win races other than Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

The first impression is good, the new car is a step forward. I felt confident enough, but we know there is still a lot of work in front of us.

Sebastian Vettel

Seven other drivers tried out their cars on the first of four days of testing in Barcelona.

Hamilton was by far the busiest driver with 156 laps completed, more than double than Vettel, who ran 69 laps. A race at the Circuit de Barcelona is 66 laps.