Vettel wins Australia for Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel won the Australian GP in Melbourne today, in his Ferrari, 9.9 seconds ahead of the polesitting Mercedes GP of Lewis Hamilton in second place and his team mate Valtteri Bottas (11.2s) in third place.

Vettel win is his first victory since Ferrari’s win in Singapore in 2015.

Kimi Raikkonen (22.3s) in the second Ferrari was fourth, followed by Max Verstappen (28.8s) in the Red Bull in fifth, Felipe Massa (83.3s) in the Williams-Mercedes in sixth, Sergio Perez (1 lap) in the Force India-Mercedes in seventh, Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso-Renault in eighth, his team mate Daniil Kvyat in ninth and Esteban Ocon in the second Force India scoring his first career point in tenth place.

Massa fastest on opening morning of Test Two

Barcelona Testing – Felipe Massa set the fastest time of the morning session on the opening day of the second pre-season test.

The Brazilian used the supersoft tyre in the final half hour of the session to set a 1:19.726; marginally slower than the fastest time of the first test – 1:19.705 set by Valtteri Bottas.

Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest having led for most of the session, sitting second on a 1:20.077 on the soft tyre. The Australian’s forst attempt at a lap on the ultrasoft tyre near the end of the sessionsaw him run into the gravel at Turn 4.

A second run saw him also go below 1:20 with a 1:19.900.

Lewis Hamilton was third, also on the soft tyre, with just under half a century of laps completed. Valtteri Bottas will take over for the afternoon.

Sebastian Vettel led the session in the early stages but finished the morning in fourth having done the most mileage with 82 laps.

Esteban Ocon was fifth for Force India, also completing more than 50 laps. The Frenchman had a late push on the supersoft tyre, keeping him ahead of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in sixth.

Daniil Kvyat complete 45 laps for Toro Rosso, who are in need of the mileage after being hampered by several reliability issues in the first test.

Also putting in much-needed laps were Stoffel Vandoorne and McLaren, who had their best morning of pre-season testing so far. The Belgian driver put in 34 laps and just under three seconds off Massa’s pace on the soft tyre.

However, shortly after the chequered flag it was revealed that McLaren would need to change Vandoorne’s engine, which is most likely to cost the team most of their running for the rest of the day.

Pascal Wehrlein put in his first testing laps for Sauber after his recovery from a back injury he suffered during his crash at the Race of Champions in January.

The German spent most of the morning on the medium tyre before putting in some laps on the softs which saw his lap times slowly come down to a 1:23.336. He put in 47 laps for the session.

Jolyon Palmer could only put in 15 laps before his Renault ran into trouble. He started to slow as he came into the pit lane, and had to be pushed to the garage by his mechanics.

It was later revealed that Renault needed to change the engine in Palmer’s car, costing him most of his morning’s running. Team mate Nico Hulkenberg is due to drive in the afternoon.

Ferrari Formula 1 team evaluating new injection system

Ferrari is believed to be evaluating a 'double anchor' injection system for its Formula 1 engine that could be introduced later in 2017.

As it looks to bounce back from a frustrating 2016 campaign, Ferrari enjoyed an encouraging start to pre-season testing with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel setting the second- and third-fastest times at Barcelona last week.

Engine customer Haas says Ferrari has made a significant step with its new engine but there could be another significant performance leap to come.

Under the orders of president Sergio Marchionne, there has been a lockdown on Ferrari communication with the media, but word has leaked out of Maranello that efforts are under way to perfect a new type of fuel injector that has a double anchor.

While double jets are not allowed within F1 rules, this double anchor can deliver similar benefits, because the injector needle can be opened and closed with much greater precision.

This will reduce the possibility of excess fuel entering the chamber, which is then not burned perfectly.

The end result should be more power and less consumption, one of the keys to performance in the turbo-hybrid V6 era.

It is thought this new technology has not been tested on track yet, with the version of the engine that ran at Barcelona the standard version.

Both Ferrari and Haas completed the first week of testing using a single version of that 062 engine.

If work on the innovation is successful, it is possible Ferrari could introduce it alongside its Turbulent Jet Ignition concept for pre-combustion in the chamber.

While much of the focus this year has been on the aerodynamic changes, the higher drag of the 2017 cars means engine performance will also be a key part of the development race.

Lewis Hamilton says he has the 'best' working relationship with Valtteri Bottas

Lewis Hamilton believes his working relationship with Valtteri Bottas is already "better" than any of his past Formula 1 team-mates.

After four years alongside friend-turned-foe Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Hamilton is joined by Bottas for 2017 with the Finn considered one of the most apolitical drivers in the sport.

The pair spent their first week working alongside each other at a track when they shared driving duties at the first Barcelona test and Hamilton has given his fifth F1 team-mate an immediate ringing endorsement.

"What I so far like about working with Valtteri is that it is all to do with the track - what we do on the circuit - and not outside," Hamilton told the official F1 website.

"There are no games - there is complete transparency. I like that. I feel we already have a better working relationship than I ever had with any team-mate I had before.

"He wants to do the best thing that he can in his first year with the team - and with me being here for quite a while now, I want to deliver and make sure that I give as much information so that he will learn. And we do our talking on the track!"

The first Barcelona test pointed towards Mercedes retaining their speed advantage of recent seasons despite the overhaul of aerodynamic rules for this year.

Hamilton's two-year reign as world champion was ended by the now-retired Rosberg last November and the 32-year-old has made clear both his and Mercedes' desires to end 2017 ahead.

"Well, I am fitter, I am working harder than ever before and I am super focused and driven after last year - when I also worked hard through the year but didn't get the result I wanted," said Hamilton.

"So I want change and that is what the team and I are working so hard to achieve. I am not really sure, but I don't think that any team has ever won championships across rules changes - and that is the big goal for us."

Hamilton is the bookmakers' overwhelming favourite for the drivers' title and when asked what would satisfy him in the Australia season opener on March 26, Hamilton replied: "I want pole position, fastest lap, being fastest in every session - and to win!"

Mercedes plans big update push for second F1 test

Mercedes is set to bring a heavily updated Formula 1 car to the second pre-season test this week, as it bids to build on its strong start to 2017 running.

The German car manufacturer delivered impressive mileage and strong pace during this week's first Barcelona test, as it showed no signs that its advantage in F1 had been eroded by the all-new regulations.

But with a number of teams expected to bring new parts to the second test, it has emerged that Mercedes will be one of the outfits to bring a more extensive development package to lift its performance potential.

There have already been suggestions that the developments, allied to it pushing more on its engine maps, could deliver it a further two seconds.

Valtteri Bottas confirmed after last week's test that there was optimism about what was being planned for the second test – as the focus switches to performance.

"We are definitely hoping we can make good steps forward next week," he said. "From the running this week, it's tricky to make a detailed analysis of where we are compared to the other teams, and we don't know what other teams are bringing next week, or for Melbourne.

"Definitely we are aiming to improve day-by-day, and now we need to work on all the things we tried this week. For me also, I need to take everything in I learnt this week, which was a massive amount. We'll try to analyse all that and try to make myself better next week."

Topping first week has "no special meaning"

Bottas ended this week's test with the fastest overall time – 1m19.705s – with it widely predicted that laps will get down in to the 1m18s region next week.

Speaking about his performance, Bottas said he did not get too excited about having ended up fastest overall – as the most important thing for him right now was understanding the car.

"It does not have a special meaning, because it is only testing and there is no reward for that, really," he said.

"We weren't particularly focusing on the laptimes this week; the priority definitely for us all week was to get mileage in, plus work on any issues with the car if there's anything to come – because better here than in the races.

"For me it was also important to get the mileage, so I was happy to do plenty of running and going through the test programme of the team. So overall a good week.

"I learned a lot, plenty of laps. The times for me are what they are; maybe next week we can do a bit of laptime analysis on where we are.

"But what matters then is what people are bringing into Melbourne for their cars and what the performance is going to be there."

Ricciardo: It's going to increase everythin

Refusing to be drawn into making any kind of prediction as to where his team stands in relation to Mercedes, or any of the others, following the opening pre-season test in Barcelona, Daniel Ricciardo admits to being mighty impressed with the new cars.

"On the first day it was a bit too early to say whether the new cars really ticked all of the boxes the rule changes had in mind," he admits in a special feature for Red Bull, "but by my second day in the car, day three, I think I realised more of the potential of what these cars could be.

"It made me realise that the high-speed corners will be as quick as they've ever been, maybe even quicker," he enthuses. "Take Turn 3 at Barcelona for example - and we weren't exactly cruising through there before - Turn 3 last week was completely flat, no lift off the throttle at all.

"I haven't compared last year's data to this year's," he admits, "but it wouldn't surprise me if we were 35-40km/h quicker through there, and it was already a 220km/h corner last year with a big lift.

"It's a big jump, not a gradual one, and things will be coming at us pretty quickly at some circuits, that's for sure.

"It's going to increase everything... the intensity, the physicality, the fatigue factor, and I welcome that. It's cool, and it's what Formula One should be.

"We'll all adapt," he insists, "but there's no masking that it'll be a much more physical task this year, and that's good for the fans and for us drivers.

"Now that I have a taste for the 2017 car, I keep thinking of some of the other tracks we go to and what will be a big challenge for us. Sector two at Spa, downhill, Pouhon, that's one of my favourite corners anyway, and we'll have a chance to be full throttle through there – how good will that be!

"If we have a headwind into any of the big corners we come across, it makes a massive difference as to how full on the throttle we can be.

"Albert Park in a few weeks will be different because it's a lot more stop-start than Barcelona is, but across the back of the circuit at the chicane, that'll be pretty lively. The first part will be maybe a little downshift into sixth, the second part might be an upshift into seventh. A good place to be watching, I reckon. Mid-200s through there... the high-speed stuff is going to keep me pretty excited this year!"

Asked the inevitable, he admits: "Where do Red Bull sit compared to the others? I’m not 100 per cent sure, and nobody will be until we hit qualifying in Melbourne. Same as every year. Are we going to win in Australia by two laps? No, much as that would be awesome (I'll take it if anyone's offering. But we’re going to be pretty competitive. And now that I’ve had a chance to sample the new cars, I’m looking forward more than usual to my home GP.

"We had a few issues pop up on the days I was in the car," he admits, "so I haven't done a full race distance yet, the most laps I did in one stint was 18. But I know enough to know what these cars are going to be like, and my enthusiasm is pretty high, not that it was lacking before."

Kevin Magnussen not looking to befriend Romain Grosjean

Kevin Magnussen has said that he will not go out of his way to become "best friends" with his new F1 teammate.

Recent reports have suggested that the former McLaren and Renault driver often struggles to get along with colleagues.

Now, as the Dane switches to the small American team Haas, Magnussen is paired with Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

"Of course it's important to beat him, as it is important to beat every teammate," Magnussen, 24, told Danish newspaper BT.

"The relationship so far is as it should be. We must of course be open and work to bring the team forward, but we also have the freedom to race against each other and don't have to be best friends."

"But that doesn't mean we're against one another - not at all!"

In fact, Magnussen says that he expects his relationship with 30-year-old Grosjean to be similar to the way he worked alongside veteran Jenson Button at McLaren.

Some recall that Button 'helped' the then-rookie Magnussen adjust to life in F1.

"No," Magnussen insisted. "I remember there were many who thought Jenson helped me a lot in 2014, but he didn't do anything specific.

"There are some teammates who deliberately try to fuck you with incorrect information and so on, but Jenson did not and I have great respect for that.

"I do not know Romain particularly well yet, but I expect that it will be a bit like with Jenson."

Magnussen picked up seven points for Renault in the 2016 championship.