Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time on the first day of the second pre-season Formula 1 test in Bahrain, as Mercedes-engined teams filled three of the top four spots on the timesheet.
The Force India driver completed 78 laps of running and was the only man to crack the 1m36s.
His 1m36.880s best on soft tyres put him inside Sebastian Vettel's fastest race lap in last year's Bahrain Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the second fastest time, edging Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes with a late run.
Alonso earlier brought out the first red flag of the day when his Ferrari left the pits billowing smoke thanks to an oil leak first thing in the morning.
Hamilton and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen both took turns to top the times during the day. Hamilton wound up third fastest and Magnussen fourth.While there were plenty of positives for the four Mercedes-powered squads (Williams was so advanced in its programme that it spent day three doing pitstop practice, while McLaren set top-four times on each day with Magnussen and Jenson Button driving), there was more disquiet at Renault outfit Red Bull.
The team suffered problems with its RB10 throughout the test, limiting Daniel Ricciardo and world champion Sebastian Vettel to a combined total of 116 laps, with a best lap time of 1m39.837s set by Ricciardo on the final day.
By contrast, Rosberg's best lap time of the week was over 6.5 seconds faster, while Mercedes completed a grand total of 315 laps between its two drivers.
The other Renault-powered teams encountered plenty of difficulties too.
Lotus looked in deep trouble early on, and Romain Grosjean cut a dejected figure in the paddock during the first two days.But 59 laps for Pastor Maldonado on the final day (which still featured plenty of technical issues) gave the team cause for greater optimism.
"Major" technical problems for Toro Rosso, and Caterham only logging decent mileage by turning the engine down on days one and three, made for many a furrowed brow among the other teams using Renault propulsion.
Meanwhile, Ferrari completed a solid if unspectacular amount of running with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.The Scuderia amassed nearly 300 laps across four days, despite a telemetry issue restricting Raikkonen to just 44 laps on Friday before he crashed the car at the end of the final day.
Apart from Esteban Gutierrez (who racked up 151 laps and set the eighth fastest time of the test), drivers in the Ferrari customer teams endured a difficult test.
The Mexican's team-mate Adrian Sutil clocked 82 laps on day one, but only seven on the final day, when the Swiss team discovered a chassis problem on the C33.
Marussia arguably endured the worst test of all the teams, completing less than 30 laps across four days, thanks to IT, engine and fuel system difficulties.
Apart from Esteban Gutierrez (who racked up 151 laps and set the eighth fastest time of the test), drivers in the Ferrari customer teams endured a difficult test.
The Mexican's team-mate Adrian Sutil clocked 82 laps on day one, but only seven on the final day, when the Swiss team discovered a chassis problem on the C33.
Marussia arguably endured the worst test of all the teams, completing less than 30 laps across four days, thanks to IT, engine and fuel system difficulties.
Combined times:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.283s
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m34.263s +0.980s
3. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.910s +1.627s
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m34.957s +1.674s
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m36.445s +3.162s
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m36.516s +3.233s
7. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m36.718s +3.435s
8. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m37.066s +3.783s
9. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.180s +3.897s
10. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m37.328s +4.045s
11. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m37.367s +4.084s
12. Felipe Nasr Williams-Mercedes 1m37.569s +4.286s
13. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1m38.707s +5.424s
14. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m38.974s +5.691s
15. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m39.837s +6.554s
16. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m39.855s +6.572s
17. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m40.224s +6.941s
18. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.443s +7.160s
19. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m40.472s +7.189s
20. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m41.670s +8.387s
21. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m42.130s +8.847s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m42.511s +9.228s
23. Robin Frijns Caterham-Renault 1m42.534s +9.251s
24. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari no time
Distance by driver
Pos Driver Team Laps Km
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 174 941
2. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 171 925
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 169 914
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 161 871
5. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 151 817
6. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 141 763
7. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 137 741
8. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 127 687
9. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 126 681
10. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 102 552
11. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 89 481
12. Felipe Nasr Williams-Mercedes 87 470
13. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 85 460
14. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 83 449
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 77 416
16. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 76 411
17. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 73 395
18. Robin Frijns Caterham-Renault 68 368
19. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 65 351
20. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 62 335
21. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 43 232
22. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 26 140
23. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 21 113
24. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 8 43
Distance by team
Pos Team Laps Km
1. Williams 323 1748
2. Mercedes 315 1704
3. McLaren 296 1601
4. Ferrari 287 1553
5. Caterham 253 1369
6. Sauber 240 1298
7. Force India 213 1152
8. Toro Rosso 139 752
9. Red Bull 116 627
10. Lotus 111 600
11. Marussia 29 156
Distance by engine manufacturer
Laps Km
1. Mercedes 1147 6207
2. Renault 619 3350
3. Ferrari 556 3009
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