The final test before the start of the 2010 Formula One season began at the Circuit de Catalunya today as the teams geared up to make the most of the four days of testing remaining before the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg kicked off the programme for the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team with much of the day spent focusing on set-up work with the MGP W01 car over longer runs alongside working on the team's race weekend procedures including qualifying and pit stop simulations. Nico completed 107 laps today with a quickest time of 1:22.514 to finish in third position on the timesheets.

Michael Schumacher will be at the wheel of the MGP W01 tomorrow to continue the team's programme.

Nico Rosberg: "We had a productive day today and we were able to learn a great deal from doing so many laps. We're making good use of the testing time that we have and I'm feeling quite confident and comfortable in the car. Aerodynamically the car will change quite significantly for the first race in Bahrain so we're not focusing on the details but on general set-up work and seeing how the car behaves over long runs. Working through the race weekend procedures and pit stops is also very useful in our preparations for Bahrain."

Times (all timings are unofficial)