The future Mercedes GP team was in action, still running under Brawn GP colours and branding, testing Mike Conway and Marcus Ericsson. Yesterday saw Conway, now aged 26 and a veteran of GP2 and the Indy Racing League, take the wheel of the BGP001 in the morning, completing 58 laps as he acclimatised to the car and worked through an aerodynamic evaluation.

Ericsson, aged 19 and Japanese F3 champion, took over for the afternoon session for his first drive in a Formula One car, taking the opportunity to familiarise himself with the Brawn GP car and the circuit over 50 laps.

Andy Soucek ended the day fastest in his Williams, setting a time of 1:19.158. Conway finished in sixth place, with a time of 1:19.920, while Ericsson was just 0.4s behind in eighth position.