Mercedes enjoyed a fine start to the new Formula One season as Nico Rosberg was fastest in the second practice session ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir.

Rosberg was more than four tenths of a second faster than the rest of the runners, with 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton his nearest rival in his McLaren.

Michael Schumacher fired a warning to the rest of the field by being third fastest, with the seven-time champion having come out of retirement to join Rosberg at Mercedes.

Reigning world champion Jenson Button was fourth fastest in the second McLaren, while Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were seventh and ninth fastest respectively.

The three new teams on the F1 grid all struggled, with Lotus, Virgin and HRT all failing to make much of an impact.

The first practice session had seen Force India's Adrian Sutil head the timesheets, with Ferrari pair Alonso and Massa second and fourth respectively.

Button was fifth in his McLaren, one place and just over a tenth of a second ahead of new team-mate Hamilton.

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