On a bright and sunny day at the Catalunya track, Vettel set a best time of 1:19.295 for Red Bull Racing, putting him 0.6 seconds clear of Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais.
The Frenchman beat Sebastien Buemi, one of his two rivals for an STR seat next year, by 0.3 seconds as the Swiss GP2 front-runner completed the top three.
McLaren test driver Gary Paffett was fourth in his KERS-equipped car, ahead of Honda's Jenson Button and BMW Sauber duo Christian Klien and Nick Heidfeld.
Klien was also using a KERS device, while Heidfeld's priority was evaluating the 2009-style aerodynamics and slick tyres. A minor accident caused by a drivetrain problem briefly delayed Klien during the morning.
Bruno Senna made his case for a 2009 Honda race drive by taking eighth place on his first full day in a Formula One car. The Brazilian was only 0.3 seconds slower than teammate Button, and 0.6 seconds quicker than his rival Lucas di Grassi had managed yesterday.
Renault's Nelson Piquet and Williams test driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten, with Luca Badoer 11th as Ferrari focused mainly on engine and gearbox reliability, and Giancarlo Fisichella and Pedro de la Rosa bringing up the rear for Force India.
Today's times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:19.295 75 2. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:19.839 122 3. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.154 115 4. Paffett McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.140 81 5. Button Honda (B) 1:21.387 94 6. Klien BMW Sauber (B) 1:21.534 88 7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:21.592 106 8. Senna Honda (B) 1:21.676 107 9. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.148 94 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.410 52 11. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:22.866 120 12. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:23.086 93 13. de la Rosa Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:23.103 88 All timing unofficial
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