Vettel hints at 'step forward' from Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari have taken a "step forward" with their 2018 challenger as they once again look to take the fight to Mercedes. Vettel put in the fastest lap time and completed more laps than anybody on the second day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

The Scuderia had looked set to win their first drivers' title since 2007 last season, with Vettel on course to beat Lewis Hamilton until a first-lap wipe-out in Singapore was followed by further mishaps in Malaysia and Japan.

Having opened the door for the Brit, Vettel and Hamilton are now tied on four world championships each.

The pair are fancied to resume rivalries this season, with the early signs from testing suggesting it could be between them again, although conclusions have been limited due to freezing conditions in Barcelona.

Though Vettel was wary of comparing his machinery to the Silver Arrows, he hopes to be sitting on an improved challenger in 2018.

"For sure you look at the others and you compare a bit but it's very difficult," Vettel said. "I think we should not get into details too much because it's a bit pointless.

First day in your new car?

Top of the leaderboard ????

So how was your new @ScuderiaFerrari, Seb?#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/yo2MxFQoSR — Formula 1 (@F1) February 27, 2018

"I hope next week we will know more. It's difficult to judge knowing the conditions out there, to stay on the track and I think others were facing similar issues.

"It seems we have made a step forward. I don’t know about performance, but with the general operation everything is really smooth.

"It's very cold, the most important thing is that if you look at the table, we did nearly 100 laps.

"Considering that it was snowing also, at the end of the day it's okay, but it's very difficult to get the tyres to work. Everybody is struggling with the same issues."