(CNN) -- Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes are on the right track ahead of the new Formula One season following an impressive final day of testing in Barcelona Sunday.
The German driver clocked a fastest time of 1 minute 20.130 seconds to record the best time of any driver over the four-day session, while also eclipsing the times set in the opening week of February.
"I'm pleased with our pre-season testing programme. We have achieved a lot of mileage and I can feel that the balance of the car is good," Rosberg, who put in 131 laps on Sunday, told reporters.
"I have the general feeling that we are in a better position than in the second half of last year but this is testing not racing, of course."
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Pastor Maldonado took the new Williams for a spin at Barcelona on February 19 following the launch at Circuit de Catalunya.
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Jimmie Johnson raises his arms in victory after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 24, in Daytona Beach, Florida.
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Teammate Lewis Hamilton looked in good shape on Saturday, getting around the track in 1 minute 20.558 seconds, while double world champion Fernando Alonso set a fastest time of 1 minute 20.494 seconds in his Ferrari.
The new season starts in Melbourne on March 17, but Rosberg says conditions in Australia will be completely different to those experienced in the European winter.
He added: "The conditions in the first race will be completely different to here as it will be much hotter in Melbourne and Sepang (the venue of the Malaysian Grand Prix) so we need to wait and see."
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Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn believes the hard work put in by his drivers will prove crucial to the team's success in the year ahead.
"I am pleased with the progress that the team has made over the last month and the steps forward that have been made with the car," Brawn told reporters.
"Lewis has settled into the team extremely well and everyone has enjoyed working with both him and Nico throughout the three tests.
"We're realistic about our performance here and our position once we get to Melbourne, and we look forward to the challenge of a new season ahead."
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The new Infiniti Red Bull Racing RB9 was launched at the Austrian-owned Formula One team's English headquarters in Milton Keynes on February 3.
Mark Webber, left, and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel pose with the Red Bull they will be driving this year.
Title rivals Ferrari launched the new F138 which they hope will power Fernando Alonso to glory in 2013.
British team McLaren unveiled its car on January 31. New driver Sergio Perez (right) poses with 2009 world champion Jenson Button and the new MP4-28.
Former McLaren star Lewis Hamilton, left, and new teammate Nico Rosberg pose with the new Mercedes W04 on February 4.
Sauber's new C32 was launched in Switzerland on February 2. It will be driven by Perez's replacement Esteban Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg, who left Force India in 2012.
Force India's Paul Di Resta with the new VJM06 which was launched on February 1 at Silverstone. His new teammate had yet to be named.
Charles Pic and Dutch rookie Giedo van der Garde launched Caterham's new CT03 car on the first day of preseason testing at Circuito de Jerez on February 5.
Romain Grosjean was third-fastest on the opening day in Jerez for Lotus, which was the first team to launch its new car -- the E21 -- on January 28.
Jimmie Johnson crosses the finish line to win the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, and Mark Martin finished third.
Jimmie Johnson celebrates his Daytona 500 win.
No. 11 Denny Hamlin leads Danica Patrick on Sunday. Patrick, who started out the race in front, entered the final lap in third place but got boxed in and ended up in eighth place.
Driver Matt Kenseth pits after a malfunction.
Josh Wise's car blows lots of smoke.
No. 5 Kasey Kahne skids out during the Daytona 500.
No. 10 Danica Patrick pits during the Daytona 500. She made history when she became the first woman to secure the pole position for the race.
The Daytona 500 is considered by many racing fans to be the Super Bowl of NASCAR.
Danica Patrick leads the field during the Daytona 500. She became the first woman to lead a lap in the race.
No. 29 Kevin Harvick, right, spins out of control after crashing into No. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya.
Michael Waltrip heads to the garage area after a car malfunction. His car was raising awareness for the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson races neck and neck with No. 15 Clint Bowyer.
Danica Patrick, far left, leads the field past the green flag to start the Daytona 500.
Danica Patrick greets the crowd during driver introductions before the start of the Daytona 500.
On Sunday, Vettel fought off feisty toreador Fernando Alonso to capture the drivers' title in a dizzying denouement and join an elite band of Formula One world champions.
It is mark of Vettel's greatness that he had come to from behind at Interlagos after a nightmare start on the opening lap when he was hit on the fourth turn and suffered damage to his car. It left Vettel at the back of the grid but by the 24th lap the Red Bull racer had clawed his way back to fifth place.
"Even if he appears to have a car that makes it possible for him, nevertheless he has to do it," said seven-time world champon Michael Schumahcer of Vettel's achievements.
"He's going for it 200% and it's a very tough job," added Schumacher of Vettel's talent. "He managed to pull it out and that is the extra effort that comes from him and to do this so consistently is very special."
The 2012 season demonstrated that if you want to get ahead in F1 make sure you have a good engineer in your team. Arguably there is no better engineer in the sport than Adiran Newey.
"Schumacher had five consecutive titles but that was in a period when Ferrari had influence on tyre development," said former McLaren GP winner John Watson.
"The interesting part is that this championship has been so hard-fought and it didn't really come together until the last races,"said 1978 champion Mario Andretti. "This season has been one of the best in memory. Vettel is one of the rare talents that don't come along very often."
"Vettel is making the most of the best design in F1," added Andretti.who is one of only two American drivers to have won the Formula One title. Here Andretti (R) is seen talking to Stirling Moss, during the championship winning season in 1978.
When Schumacher won his first world title with Benetton in 1994 it was also one of F1's darkest periods. The German won the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 where both Simtek racer Roland Ratzenberger and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna lost their lives. 
Vettel celebrates with Formule One supremo Bernie Ecclestone following his title win in Brazil.
Vettel is now chasing after Frenchman Alain Prost , who won four drivers' titles.
"Fangio is my hero," said former McLaren GP winner Watson. "Why I respect him is that he won five world championships in an era when motor racing was fundamentally a slaughter."
Vettel aims to join Prost next year -- then five-time winner Fangio and Schumacher's magnificent seven are all that are ahead of him in his quest for total greatness.
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