Rosberg impressed by new Mercedes exhausts

Nico Rosberg at Barcelona Wednesday

Mercedes Grand Prix ran with a raft of new technical developments as its final winter test program was launched in Barcelona on Wednesday, with the silver arrows running Nico Rosberg plus bodywork modifications and Renault-like forward-pointing exhausts for the first time.

“It was nice to get the first of our upgrades on the car today and to feel their potential," reported the German, who ended the day eighth of the 11 drivers on the timesheet.

“Thanks to everyone at the team for their hard work as I think we have some impressive developments, even though we couldn't test or show the full performance today as not all of the elements are on the car and working together yet."

Having had to finish early due to a bodywork-related issue, the son of 1982 World Champion Keke added: “We had glimpses that showed that the full package should be a big step. The bodywork problem cost some time at the end, however we still learned a great deal."