The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team began the third pre-season test at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain today with Michael Schumacher at the wheel of the MGP W01.

After last week's rain-affected test, further bad weather left the track very wet for the start of testing this morning and intermittent rain showers continued to disrupted the action throughout the day.

With the team's programme constantly adapting to suit the conditions, Michael began the day on wet tyres before switching to intermediates as a dry line began to emerge by late morning. Michael successfully completed a planned long run on dry tyres in the early afternoon before a further downpour soaked the track. Despite the interruptions, Michael completed 111 laps today, covering 492kms.

Nico Rosberg will take over the car tomorrow for the second day of the test.

Michael Schumacher: "The weather was really changing all the time today which made it difficult to follow our planned programme and to have a clear picture of everyone's performance. From the laps that we achieved, we have again confirmed the reliability of the car, and from the impressions and data gathered, we can say that the pace and performance looks very good. We have a strong basis to keep up the development this week here in Jerez and next week at the final test in Barcelona."

Times (all timings are unofficial)