Seb: Times aren’t important, laps are

Stepping out in Ferrari red at Jerez on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel was left with a good first impression of his new SF15-T.

Vettel swapped from Red Bull Racing to Ferrari during the off-season, bringing an end to his relationship with Red Bull which had last more than a decade.

Less than 48 hours after taking part in his first Ferrari launch, the 27-year-old got down to business at the Jerez circuit.

In action on the opening day of testing, Vettel completed 60 laps with a best time of 1:22.620, which put him at the top of the timesheets.

"It's a big change – clearly!" he said.

"The potential is obviously huge, but it's also a time of change for the team with a lot of people leaving, a lot of people coming, people getting promoted and put in different places.

"But definitely motivation is high, not just with me, but all the team to get back to the front as soon as possible.

"In the end we can be happy we did a decent amount of laps. It would have been nice to have done more, but overall I'm quite happy, and the first impression is quite good."

And although the German finished the day quickest of all, he says at this stage of testing lap time are not important, mileage is.

The team that gained the most mileage on Sunday was Mercedes with Nico Rosberg amassing 157 laps compared to Vettel's 60.

"My time is obviously not that important, although it's better to be closer to the front than a long way behind.

"But in terms of laps, there is still a lot we can do. The reference is still Mercedes, who did, I don't know, 200 laps, 250 or something!

"They are showing they are starting off with a very reliable car, one that hopefully is not as quick as last year, which everyone is hoping for.

"But credit to them, they've done a very good job, and it would be a surprise if they are not as strong as last year."