Bahrain - Sprint Race Quotes

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets on a day when the rain made a somewhat surprising, and wholly unwelcome, visit to Barcelona.

Until 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, Sebastian Vettel had completed only three laps of the Circuit de Catalunya as variable weather conditions tested the patience of the 15,800 fans who had turned up to watch the action in Barcelona. Christian Horner has since confirmed to GPUpdate.net that an oil pump change was the reason for the postponement at the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Just a day after 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher questioned the pace of his Mercedes, current title holder Jenson Button has hinted that his McLaren may also require improvements before he is able to challenge for race victories in his season of title defence.

Jenson Button ends his pre-season programme saying his McLaren team have still not got the best out of their car.

Jarno Trulli feels positive over the performance of Lotus' car as the Norfolk-based team continues to focus on reliability as opposed to pace for the first races of the new season. The Italian, who admits that the T127 is currently four seconds off the pace, talked to GPUpdate.net's Gregory Haines following his final day of testing in Spain.

Richard Branson, head of the Virgin empire which is backing Manor Grand Prix' effort, has hit back at comments made by Ferrari earlier this week when the Italian team was critical of the new teams entering the sport this season.

Nico Rosberg has registered the best lap time in Spain as the penultimate day of pre-season testing was staged at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya. The German Mercedes driver topped the timesheets with a best effort of 1:20.686 despite suffering a stoppage with 45 minutes to go.

Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher says he believes Ferrari will head into the new season as the strongest team.

Driver & Team Standings after Bahrain

Arden rookie Charles Pic has taken his maiden GP2 Asia win in Bahrain today, while iSport International is crowned GP2 Asia team champion.

Mid session times from Barcelona on the penultimate day of pre-season testing.

Formula 1 hopefuls Stefan Grand Prix have upped the pressure amounts on the struggling US F1 team by stating in public fashion that it is compromising the overall enjoyment of the sport this year. The Serbian squad will be unable to join this year's grid unless another outfit withdraws.

Bahrain Race 2 - Result

Williams's Nico Hulkenberg used softer tyres to outpace Ferrari in testing, plus other gossip and rumours.

Andy Soucek is confident that the Virgin Racing team is fully aware of the problems it currently must deal with and that, furthermore, the debutant outfit can now continue to concentrate on developing its car's reliability. The team is also believed to now hold a full understanding over the cause of Lucas di Grassi's crash on Thursday.

Sir Richard Branson believes that Ferrari should support Formula 1's new teams as opposed to criticising this year's debutants, as it did earlier in the week. The Maranello squad, the only team which has remained in the sport since its very first race in 1950, believes that governing body the FIA should have assisted larger manufacturers more to be able to remain.

With less than two weeks to go before the first free practice session of the 2010, and with confusion still surrounding two of the official entries, Stefan GP has ramped up its bid to be on the grid in Bahrain and beyond.

World champion Jenson Button and Ferrari's Felipe Massa are among the stars in action on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

As the weekend begins, several drivers are making their on-track debuts at the current Barcelona test, with two just days of running to go before the teams head to Bahrain for the opening round of the 2010 World Championship. Morning conditions feature cloud cover over the Circuit de Catalunya.