Nico Rosberg testing the Mercedes W04 at Barcelona

Nico Rosberg tests the Mercedes W04 car at Barcelona

Having consistently played down his expectations for 2013, Lewis Hamilton is now predicting a win.

Until this weekend, most pundits had been forecasting a Red Bull versus Lotus battle for the forthcoming season opener, with next-best McLaren and Ferrari perhaps slightly off the ultimate pace.

But on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton exploded to the top of the times with the winter's best laptime. Nico Rosberg then went even quicker in the first half of Sunday, the last day of running before the circus heads off to Australia.

"Everywhere in the paddock, respect is being shown for Mercedes," said Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Tobias Gruner.

There are, however, outstanding questions. Didn't Mercedes also show good pace before last season, when ultimately the 2012 car fell badly off the development pace?

And isn't there a huge difference between one-lap qualifying pace and the new tyre-degradation dominated grands prix?

Finally, is the W04 really a title contender?

"It's not 'no chance' and not 'definitely we will'," Hamilton said. "We will definitely be able to win a race at some point."

Added Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg: "At the very least, Mercedes' betting odds have changed now!"

Lap times Barcelona F1 wintertesting - day 8 (final)

Fastest lap times on the 8th day of Barcelona F1 wintertesting:

PosDriverTeamLap TimeLapsTyres
1Nico RosbergMercedes1:20.130 min131Soft
2Fernando AlonsoFerrari1:20.494 min120Soft
3Jenson ButtonMcLaren1:21.444 min122Soft
4Nico HülkenbergSauber1:21.541 min118Soft
5Kimi RäikkönenLotus F11:21.658 min50Soft
6Paul di RestaForce India1:21.664 min112Soft
7Pastor MaldonadoWilliams1:22.415 min42Soft
8Sebastian VettelRed Bull1:22.514 min100Soft
9Valtteri BottasWilliams1:22.524 min31Soft
10Charles PicCaterham1:23.115 min116Soft
11Jules BianchiForce India1:23.167 min62Soft
12Daniel RicciardoToro Rosso1:23.628 min91Soft
13Max ChiltonManor1:24.103 min49Soft


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