129 laps confirm Mercedes W03 reliability
Nico Rosberg was back in the Mercedes AMG F1 W03 today for his second day, and the team's third day, of testing this week in Barcelona. While that confirms an excellent reliability, Rosberg's best was only good for the 9th best time of the day.
Nico completed a series of medium length runs in the morning session to evaluate different set-up and aerodynamic options
He continued to achieve good mileage over longer runs this afternoon before a rain shower briefly interrupted proceedings. This gave Nico the chance to drive the F1 W03 on intermediate tyres for the first time during the final hour of the day.
Nico Rosberg: "I'm happy with my pre-season testing programme, and I believe that we have made a step forward from last year. I have been able to achieve a lot of mileage which shows that the car is very reliable, and as a driver, I feel ready now for the first race in Melbourne. Unbelievably in the last hours of my test today, it was raining! So I have also been able to experience the car in the wet. Now it's exciting to go to the first race and see where we are compared to the others. Finally all the talking stops and the racing starts when we get to Australia."
No of Laps: 129 laps Best Lap Time: 1:22.932 Kms Covered: 600 km Track Length: 4.655 km F1 W03 Mileage: 3984 km Weather: Cloudy with a late afternoon rain shower
Michael Schumacher will drive for the fourth and final day of the test tomorrow to conclude our pre-season testing programme.