Spanish Grand Prix race winner Nico Rosberg picked up where he left off at the weekend by topping the timesheets on the first morning of this week's in-season Barcelona test.
Nine of F1's teams are taking part in the two-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya this week, with only Manor choosing to skip the opportunity as it does not have any new parts to put on its car.
Rosberg showed no signs of a hangover from his victory celebrations, clocking a fastest time of 1:24.374 midway through the morning as Mercedes worked alongside Pirelli doing tyre testing. The lap was set on an unmarked-compound tyre and was 0.3s quicker than the time that secured his pole position three days earlier. What's more the lap was recorded during a seven-lap run, which means the Mercedes was running a heavier fuel load than it was during qualifying on Saturday. More than anything the lap underlines the difference a 66-lap race has on track conditions at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Ferrari academy member and Sauber reserve driver Raffaelle Marciello was second fastest and 2.274s off the pace after 47 laps in the Ferrari. In accordance with in-season testing regulations, at least one day of the test has to be handed over to a driver with less than three races of F1 experience, giving the likes of Marciello a chance to impress the top teams. The main aim for Ferrari this week is to gain a better understanding of the aerodynamic package that failed to offer the step forward the team had hoped for at the Spanish Grand Prix. Ex-Sauber driver and Ferrari reserve Esteban Gutierrez will continue the work on Wednesday.
After the disappointment of his fourth retirement in five races, Pastor Maldonado was back behind the wheel of the Lotus on Tuesday. He completed 53 laps and improved to 1:27.338 to go third in the hour ahead of the lunch break. He will hand the car over to test driver Jolyon Palmer on Wednesday.
Red Bull's lacklustre weekend appeared to extend into the first morning of testing as Daniil Kvyat managed just 20 laps in the RB11, the least of any of the teams present. GP2 driver and Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly will take Kvyat's place in the Red Bull on Wednesday, but on Tuesday enjoyed a day behind the wheel of the Toro Rosso. He was 0.4s off Kvyat's time at lunch.
GP2 driver Nick Yelloly made his F1 debut in the Force India a day earlier than expected as he subbed in for Mercedes DTM driver Pascal Wehrlein, who was unwell on Tuesday morning. Wehrlein is hoping to be fit enough to drive the Mercedes on Wednesday when Mercedes-backed GP3 driver Esteban Ocon is expected to take over at Force India.
McLaren was on track with test driver Oliver Turvey as the team sets out to test a number of mechanical and aerodynamic updates while continuing to up the performance of its Honda power unit. Turvey's best time was a 1:29.730 with only Felipe Massa in the Williams clocking a slower time in the morning.