Holy smoke! Mercedes hit by teething problems

Nico Rosberg’s car goes up in smoke (Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton, due to have his first proper run in Mercedes' new car on Wednesday, was given a worrying introduction to life on the track with the team after team-mate Nico Rosberg's version of the W04 caught fire on the first day of pre-season testing in Spain.

The German set the early pace at the Circuito de Jerez before the car, unveiled on Monday, caught light briefly and forced him off. Mercedes engineers blamed an electrical fault sparked by faulty wiring and cancelled the rest of the session.

Suspension failure caused a crash for Marussia's Max Chilton while McLaren's Jenson Button was fastest.