Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn was in an upbeat mood after the team finished the winter test season at the top of the Barcelona timesheets, although he cautioned that it was too still too early to draw too many conclusions.
After Lewis Hamilton was fastest yesterday his team mate Nico Rosberg was even quicker on today’s final day.
“I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last month and the steps forward that have been made with the car,” said Brawn. “We have achieved our objectives for the test programme and the mileage that we have been able to complete has been very satisfying. Lewis has settled into the team extremely well and everyone has enjoyed working with both him and Nico throughout the three tests.
“We now have one final week back at the factory to complete our preparations. Both drivers will be at the factory this week and, as always, there is a lot of work to do in a short space of time. We’re realistic about our performance here and our position once we get to Melbourne, and we look forward to the challenge of a new season ahead.”
Adam Cooper F1 
Mercedes did for sure show some great pace in Barcelona, it will be interesting to see where they stands in the competition come Melbourne.
A report from someone at the test said that Rosberg was using DRS at every opportunity around the track while Alonso was only using it on the two straights. I’d say that Mercedes was artificially pumping their times for whatever reason.
Whenever I see these stories from winter testing the first question that comes to mind is ‘fuel load?’ I do think Mercedes is making progress, and should be competetive, but a light load and some sticky tyres make for some good press in pre season and give the sponsors something to smile about (or attract potential customers if need be).