Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheet mid-day in Barcelona, just edging out Mercedes rival Valtteri Bottas by two tenths.

The German driver clocked in before the lunch break with a 1:20.396 achieved on medium tyres, but Bottas was hot on the heels of the Ferrari, with both men putting 86 laps under their belt

With the Circuit de Catalunya basking in the sun, the Mercedes driver - and everyone else - was hard at work at the outset, eager to regain last week's lost track time, setting the morning's benchmark time.

With 30 minutes to go in the session, Vettel switched to Pirelli's medium rubber to undertake a series of longer runs which yielded the fastest lap of the day.

Grinding all morning like his colleagues, Red Bulls' Max Verstappen equalled his rivals' lap count but ended just 0.253s off Vettel's best time.

Toro Rosso continued to impress, with Pierre Gasly enjoying a trouble-free morning which put him P4 in the rankings, just 0.543s of the leader.

Conversely, Honda's former partner McLaren was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday. The Woking-based team's target of completing 500km a day during pre-season testing was hit with a set-back when Stoffel Vandoorne's MCL33 suffered a sudden power loss early on, after just four laps of running.

The team investigated the battery-linked issue and subsequently sent the Belgian back out, but Vandoorne limited his runs to single installation laps.

Haas' Kevin Magnussen's best effort on soft tyres kept the Dane within one second of Vettel, while Williams' Sergey Sirotkin and Renault's Nico Hulkenberg were close behind.

Marcus Ericsson and Force India's Sergio Perez rounded off the top-9, the Mexican enduring an off-track excursion into the gravel at Turn 4.

Pre-season test Day 5 - lunchtime

Pos Driver Team Time Laps Tyre
1  Vettel  Ferrari 1:20.396 86 M
2  Bottas  Mercedes 1:20.596 86 S
3  Verstappen  Red Bull 1:20.649 85 M
4  Gasly  Toro Rosso 1:20.973 53 S
5  Magnussen  Haas 1:21.298 46 S
6  Hülkenberg  Renault 1:21.432 48 M
7  Sirotkin  Williams 1:21.588 42 S
8  Ericsson  Sauber 1:21.893 56 M
9  Pérez  Force India 1:21.936 37 S
10  Vandoorne  McLaren 1:24.773 4 SS

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

11 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

13 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

14 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

16 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

17 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

18 hours ago