• Jerez Test Day One

Mercedes gets to the bottom of reliability issues

Nico Rosberg: "We have a significant step for Bahrain, so I'm not looking at the times" © Sutton Images

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Mercedes insists it is now on top of the hydraulic problems that have blighted the W02 in early testing.

On the frist day of the second test, Nico Rosberg's track time was again cut short by the same problem that limited the Mercedes running at Valencia last week. But in a press release the team said it had now found the root of the problem and solved the issue.

Rosberg completed 67 laps in the end but was still a long way off the pace of the front runners and classified ninth.

"We had a reasonable day and I was able to complete quite a few laps, which is positive," he said. "It's important for both me and the team to get good mileage and we're really learning about the car all the time. We had a few little issues, which you always expect from a new car, so we just have to keep putting the miles on it."

He revealed that the team was concentrating on getting new systems such as KERS to work and would start to worry about lap times when the final specification of the car runs in Bahrain.

"The KERS was working well and having more time to get used to the system is a real help; it's not just a question of using the buttons but also understanding the effect of the KERS under braking. We are starting to understand the tyres better and that will be one of the key factors to success over the race weekends.

"We have a significant step for Bahrain, so I'm not looking at the times. The others might have a step as well, but it's impossible to say. My moveable rear wing wasn't working today, and that takes away so much from the lap time. It's really early days."

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