Nico Rosberg has played down his lightning pace on the final day of testing in Bahrain after he outpaced his nearest rival, Jenson Button, by over 1.6 seconds.
Mercedes are already being touted as favourites as not only where they quickest, but they also completed the most mileage.
Rosberg however isn’t getting ahead of himself and says the time difference can simply be put down to fuel loads.
“We were doing some qualifying-style runs and for sure the other guys didn’t take as much fuel out as we did, which explains the gaps,” he said.
“It’s impossible to know what the other people were doing with so many tyres here as well. The feeling is positive and it’s looking quite good, even on pace, but I don’t want to say more than that.”
When asked to compare this years car to last years, considering his best time was just under a second slower than his pole lap of 2013, he said: “We’re quicker on the straights [than 2013] and slower in the corners. There’s a lot less grip in the corners, so more sliding and that’s the main thing. You can feel that, the loss in downforce.”
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