Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel continued his positive start to life with Ferrari by going fastest again on a rain affected second day of pre-season testing on the Circuito de Jerez on Monday.
The 27-year-old German took nearly two seconds off the fastest time he set on Sunday to record a best time of 1 minute, 20.984 seconds among his 88 laps.
Vettel’s start to the new campaign is in stark contrast to his disastrous test in Jerez ahead of a troubled final season with Red Bull last year, when he completed just 11 laps over two days.
Photo: EPA
“It could be worse, especially compared to last year at this stage,” Vettel said.
“We did a lot of laps, especially today. I think it is normal in winter testing if you see anything running a bit odd to take the time to stop and have a look, which unfortunately takes time, but the new engines seem to work well even in these conditions,” he said.
Vettel was to hand over the steering wheel on the SF15-T to teammate Kimi Raikkonen for the remaining two days of testing in southern Spain.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was only fourth fastest, but Mercedes were again leaders on laps completed, as the Englishman did 91 before rain and a water leak from a failed part brought his afternoon to an early end.
McLaren’s struggles with their new Honda-powered MP4-30 continued as Jenson Button managed just six laps to add to the same number Fernando Alonso completed on the first day.
“Obviously not the easiest start to the season, but as we know it is a very complicated power unit,” Button said. “We will get our heads around it and I think in terms of the problems we had today, we have our head around it and understand the issue.”
“We are hoping for a much more productive day three and day four,” he added.
Red Bull were also left looking embarrassed when 20-year-old Daniil Kyvat damaged the only front wing they have with them in Jerez early on, which restricted the Russian to just 18 untimed laps.
“It was not ideal today, sometimes mistakes happen and there’s nothing you can do about them,” Kyvat said.
By contrast, 17-year-old Max Verstappen enjoyed a fruitful opening day of his Formula One career for Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso, as he went fifth-fastest in 73 laps.
Sauber’s surprising early reliability and speed was on show once more as Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr was second-fastest in racking up 88 laps just as teammate Marcus Ericsson had been on Sunday.
Finland’s Valtteri Bottas also clocked up the kilometers with 61 laps as he went third fastest in the Williams.
The test in Jerez is to be followed by two more four-day sessions in Barcelona later this month before the new season gets under way in Melbourne, Australia, on March 15.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to