Rosberg enjoys 'sensational' test

Formula BMW champion Rosberg also became, at just 17 years old, the youngest ever driver to pilot an F1 car. He set a best lap of 1m21.069s, which was 2.8s slower than the fastest Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya.

"It was sensational," said the Finn, son of former world champion Keke Rosberg. "Now I don't want to drive anything else. I want to say a big thank you to BMW and Williams. The first laps were like a game with a Playstation - everything went so fast and seemed so unreal. My father had advised me not to attempt too much and just enjoy the whole experience. I think I managed to do that quite well."

BMW European Touring Car Championship driver Dirk Muller also tested for Williams at Barcelona, and was equally excited by the whole experience.

"For me a huge dream has come true," said Muller. "I'm deeply impressed by the incredible power of the BMW engine. I didn't come close to exhausting the potential of the Formula 1 brakes and lost a lot of time as a result. Lateral acceleration, too, is even more impressive than I had expected. Despite two weeks of intense training, my neck started hurting far too early. Even so, it was the icing on the cake of my racing experiences."