BARCELONA: Sebastian Vettel topped the early times on the fourth day of the second testing session in Barcelona on Friday.

The Ferrari driver clocked 1min 22.765sec to lead the time sheets with Mercedes world champion Lewis Hamilton sitting fourth.

Hamilton is due to be replaced by teammate Nico Rosberg for the afternoon session.

Manor’s rookie driver Rio Haryanto was unable to put in any laps due to mechanical issues with his Mercedes-powered MRT05 car.

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen briefly used a prototype of the new head protection device during Formula One preseason testing on Thursday.

The Finnish driver did an installation lap with the device fitted to his Ferrari SF16-H before it was removed and he carried on testing without it.

The sport is looking at ways of improving cockpit security to leave drivers less exposed to the risk of head injuries after French driver Jules Bianchi and British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died last year.

The “halo” design works by forming a kind of semi-circular barrier around the driver’s head and is the concept most favored as it offers protection against flying debris without completely closing the cockpit.

Times: Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:23.852 (54 laps), Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Toro Rosso) 1:23.134 (57), Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India) 1:23.721 (44), Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:24.133 (69), Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 1:24.427 (61), Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren) 1:24.714 (56), Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1:24.859 (31), Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 1:25.031 (57), Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:25.255 (53), Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1:25.696 (63)