He lapped in one minute 22.792 seconds, a full 0.7 seconds quicker than the next best of Felipe Massa in the Williams.
It was also over a second better than his nearest rival on the day, Massa’s teammate Valtteri Bottas of Finland.
That's a wrap for @nico_rosberg! 106 @Circuitcat_eng laps on the board – nicely done! #F1 #BackToWork pic.twitter.com/06o91B5S6x
With the opening grand prix of the season in just over a fortnight in Australia, Mercedes has laid down the groundwork to repeat its 2014 triumphs where it won 16 of the 19 races.
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England’s Will Stevens has been confirmed as its first driver and is set to take his place on the grid at Albert Park on March 15.
Stevens raced in last season’s final race in Abu Dhabi for Caterham, another struggling team, which has been scrapped from the 2015 list after failing to find new funding.
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