F1: Vettel fastest in testing

Germany's two-time defending Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel posted the fastest time in testing in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Red Bull driver clocked a fastest lap time of 1min 23.265sec in his 79-lap spell on the circuit.

"One thing is for sure, the cars have less grip than last year (due to new rules)," said Vettel.

"But I felt good and it was a good day. We took a long break at lunch in order to make adjustments, but nothing was broken."

His compatriot, Nico Hulkenberg, put in the second fastest time in his Force India car.

"It was a very positive day and the car was very balanced," said the former Williams driver, who failed to get a drive last year.

Lotus, though, did not have a great day, despite having recorded the quickest times out of all the 2012 cars at a previous testing session in Jerez.

French driver Romain Grosjean had such a serious problem with his car's chassis that the team have decided to pull out of testing for the rest of the week.

"It wasn't an easy decision to take but it would be more productive to do this, working on both chassis," said team director Eric Boullier.

"Our design department has already found a solution and we will be back for the final session of testing."

Testing continues until Friday and there will be a final series of testing back here on March 1-4, before the teams travel to Australia for the opening race of the season in Melbourne on March 18.

Times
1. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault)     1min 23.265sec  79 laps
2. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercedes)  1:23.440        97
3. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)       1:23.590       114
4. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)   1:23.618        76
5. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari)               1:24.100        75
6. Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes-AMG)       1:24.150        51
7. Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari)           1:24.219        66
8. Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams-Renault)          1:25.711        97
9. Heikko Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham-Renault)    1:26.035        31
10. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus-Renault)        1:26.809         7
11. Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia-Cosworth)        1:28.026       121

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