Lewis Hamilton set the fastest of the week on the final day of pre-season testing at Barcelona, although it wasn’t only in qualy style runs where his MP4-25 showed considerable pace.

Michael Schumacher appears to have lost none of his self-confidence during his three years away from Formula One.

Ross Brawn has admitted his Mercedes team have “got a bit of work to do” in order to catch McLaren and Ferrari while Michael Schumacher says he does not expect to challenge for early-season race wins.

Mercedes GP on Monday revealed the bright silver livery it will use on its cars for the 2010 world championship. At the German carmaker’s Stuttgart museum shortly after 11am, drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg presented the colour scheme – featuring a black nose and a turquoise sheen in deference to title sponsor Petronas – to hundreds of media representatives.

Michael Schumacher has set his sights on winning an eighth world title after beginning work on his Formula One comeback in Jerez this week. Schumacher agreed to come out of his retirement from the sport after being convinced to join the Mercedes team by boss Ross Brawn, and the 41-year-old admits he would not have agreed to return if he did not feel he could be competitive.