Vettel doubts Mercedes & Red Bull pace

Sebastian Vettel sees no reason to pay attention to the impressive long-run pace of Mercedes and Red Bull in pre-season testing. The Ferrari star does not believe their rivals' preparation in Barcelona is reflective of their true grand prix potential.

The fortnight in Barcelona ended with Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen topping the timesheets, while the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were only eighth and 10th-quickest respectively.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was second from bottom on the charts among race drivers.

Despite the lack of headline pace, both Mercedes and Red Bull delivered impressive shows of consistency on long runs in the second week of testing.

Both teams monopolised use of the medium compound tyres, which Vettel has held up as evidence that such running should not be taken too seriously.

"Our competitors - Mercedes and Red Bull - used one type of tyre for their race distance simulations, which is something you can't do in a grand prix," Vettel said.

"This has an impact on the strategies and ultimately on the result."

As last year, the Scuderia ended pre-season sitting pretty on top of the timesheets. Vettel broke the lap record at the Circuit de Catalunya and is brimming with confidence as he looks to go one better than last season's second-place finish in the standings after scrapping with Hamilton.

"We're starting from a good base with our SF71H car," he said.

"Now we'll have to work on development to further explore and improve its potential. I have a lot of confidence in our team, I know how skilled and committed the guys in Maranello are.

"We did not experience any major issues with the car, and I had fun driving it. I can't wait to be in Australia, because once we get on track there, we will all be driving and racing under the same conditions. And, as I said before, I have confidence in our car."