(CNN) -- Sebastian Vettel revved up his engine for the first time this winter as he started preparations to claim a fourth successive world title.
The German, who became the youngest triple world champion last season, completed over 100 laps at Jerez as Red Bull continued its testing period in Spain Thursday.
Vettel, 25, clocked the third fastest time of the day behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg after coming home in one minute 19.052 seconds.
Webber vows to battle Vettel for F1 title
"So far, I think we can be pretty happy," Vettel told reporters ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne on March 7.
Pastor Maldonado took the new Williams for a spin at Barcelona on February 19 following the launch at Circuit de Catalunya.
F1 teams unveil 2013 cars
Sebastian Vettel celebrates with his team and admirers after a pulsating race at Interlagos in Brazil. But where does the Red Bull driver rank in the pantheon of F1's virtuosos?
How good is Sebastian Vettel?
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Senna vs. Fangio: Who is the greatest?
"(Teammate) Mark (Webber) had a good couple of days to start with and I took over today. It was great to get back in the car, to get rid of the rust and to get back in the groove again.
"At this stage it's very difficult to judge anything else. It could be that there is a favourite after these three tests, but it could turn out to be completely different in Australia because it's a different track with different characteristics.
"I expect the championship to be at least as tight as last year, as the regulations haven't changed so much."
Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth fastest and the Finn revealed he was delighted to get to grips with the team's new car.
"It was good to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car again," he told the team's official website.
"The E21 feels quite good so far, even if the balance isn't quite to my liking yet. That didn't stop us going through the program we wanted to do which had a lot of aero runs in it.
"We know the car can go faster, we were just running through what we needed to achieve.
"It's a shame that we had a clutch issue at the end of the day, but that's why we come testing so we can find these problems and fix them."
The most noteworthy incident of the day occurred when British driver James Rossiter was involved in an accidental collision with one of his Force India mechanics, who thankfully escaped any serious injuries.
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The new Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB9 was launched at the Austrian-owned Formula One team's English headquarters in Milton Keynes on February 3.
Mark Webber, left, and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel pose with the Red Bull they will be driving this year.
Title rivals Ferrari launched the new F138 which they hope will power Fernando Alonso to glory in 2013.
British team McLaren unveiled its car on January 31. New driver Sergio Perez (right) poses with 2009 world champion Jenson Button and the new MP4-28.
Former McLaren star Lewis Hamilton, left, and new teammate Nico Rosberg pose with the new Mercedes W04 on February 4.
Sauber's new C32 was launched in Switzerland on February 2. It will be driven by Perez's replacement Esteban Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg, who left Force India in 2012.
Force India's Paul Di Resta with the new VJM06 which was launched on February 1 at Silverstone. His new teammate had yet to be named.
Charles Pic and Dutch rookie Giedo van der Garde launched Caterham's new CT03 car on the first day of preseason testing at Circuito de Jerez on February 5.
Romain Grosjean was third-fastest on the opening day in Jerez for Lotus, which was the first team to launch its new car -- the E21 -- on January 28.
On Sunday, Vettel fought off feisty toreador Fernando Alonso to capture the drivers' title in a dizzying denouement and join an elite band of Formula One world champions.
It is mark of Vettel's greatness that he had come to from behind at Interlagos after a nightmare start on the opening lap when he was hit on the fourth turn and suffered damage to his car. It left Vettel at the back of the grid but by the 24th lap the Red Bull racer had clawed his way back to fifth place.
"Even if he appears to have a car that makes it possible for him, nevertheless he has to do it," said seven-time world champon Michael Schumahcer of Vettel's achievements.
"He's going for it 200% and it's a very tough job," added Schumacher of Vettel's talent. "He managed to pull it out and that is the extra effort that comes from him and to do this so consistently is very special."
The 2012 season demonstrated that if you want to get ahead in F1 make sure you have a good engineer in your team. Arguably there is no better engineer in the sport than Adiran Newey.
"Schumacher had five consecutive titles but that was in a period when Ferrari had influence on tyre development," said former McLaren GP winner John Watson.
"The interesting part is that this championship has been so hard-fought and it didn't really come together until the last races,"said 1978 champion Mario Andretti. "This season has been one of the best in memory. Vettel is one of the rare talents that don't come along very often."
"Vettel is making the most of the best design in F1," added Andretti.who is one of only two American drivers to have won the Formula One title. Here Andretti (R) is seen talking to Stirling Moss, during the championship winning season in 1978.
When Schumacher won his first world title with Benetton in 1994 it was also one of F1's darkest periods. The German won the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 where both Simtek racer Roland Ratzenberger and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna lost their lives. 
Vettel celebrates with Formule One supremo Bernie Ecclestone following his title win in Brazil.
Vettel is now chasing after Frenchman Alain Prost , who won four drivers' titles.
"Fangio is my hero," said former McLaren GP winner Watson. "Why I respect him is that he won five world championships in an era when motor racing was fundamentally a slaughter."
Vettel aims to join Prost next year -- then five-time winner Fangio and Schumacher's magnificent seven are all that are ahead of him in his quest for total greatness.
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