Rosberg sets stunning lap time on day two

Just a day after Williams gave the paddock an insight into how good they can be, Mercedes wowed the paddock as Nico Rosberg set a 1:22.792s to top the timesheets on day two of the third pre-season test in Barcelona.

Rosberg’s short run was the first time Mercedes put on the soft tyre in pre-season and they immediately showed how much they have improved since last season.

It is expected that they have, roughly, a 0.7s per lap advantage over Williams, who came second today through Valtteri Bottas.

Day two proved to be a day of impressive reliability, as the majority of teams passed 100 laps for the day, including McLaren.

Just as testing looked like being a nightmare they could not escape, Jenson Button completed 100 laps before a late breakdown at the end of the day.

He finished the day fifth fastest, but it is understood that their engine was not at full power.

Force India had an encouraging day as they ran their 2015 car for the first time this season. Nico Hulkenberg finished as the slowest of the nine drivers on show, but the team completed 77 laps.

It was a quieter day for Ferrari, who focused on long stints, along with Toro Rosso, Lotus and Sauber.

Red Bull had reliability issues in the morning, but Daniil Kvyat managed to complete 84 laps.

Classified results from day two

1 Nico Rosberg,  Mercedes:  1:22.792s (106 laps)
2 Valtteri Bottas, Williams:  1:23.995s +1.203 (90 laps)
3 Felipe Nasr, Sauber:  1:24.071s +1.279 (141 laps)
4 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari: 1:25.339s +2.547 (143 laps)
5 Jenson Button, McLaren: 1:25.590s +2.798 (101 laps)
6 Pastor Maldonado, Lotus: 1:26.705s +3.913 (140 laps)
7 Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso: 1:26.766s +3.974 (139 laps)
8 Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull: 1:26.965s +4.173 (84 laps)
9 Nico Hulkenberg, Force India: 1:28.412s +5.620 (77 laps)

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