The car in front is a Toyota on final test day.

Jarno Trulli propelled Toyota to the top of the timesheets on the last day of the final group test ahead of the 2008 Formula 1 campaign, as the big guns hid further down the order in Barcelona - though the Italian did admit to having set the time on a low-fuel qualifying-style run whilst the track was at its best early on.

The 34-year-old ended proceedings almost half a second clear of his nearest challenger - Red Bull Racing's David Coulthard - after completing 83 laps of the sun-kissed Circuit de Catalunya. Final preparations ahead of Melbourne were the order of the day, as both Trulli and team-mate Timo Glock spent time fine-tuning set-ups and finishing off their groundwork for the opening grand prix.

"That was another positive day," the former Monaco Grand Prix winner enthused. "We made some progress in understanding the car and the set-up. Even though this is only a test, it's nice to see the mechanics and the guys smiling because today's times are good motivation.

"There is still room for improvement, but this shows the team has done a good job over the winter tests. Of course we won't know the real running order until Melbourne, but I'm quite confident for the season. It's definitely looking much better than last year, so I'm happy for the team."

Glock endured a more troubled day's work behind the wheel of the sister TF108, covering 65 laps but suffering an off-track moment and never really getting onto the pace, as he ultimately wound up more than a second adrift of his team-mate down in eleventh spot. The German didn't share Trulli's enthusiasm for the Japanese outfit's chances in the Australian Grand Prix.

"Today was a frustrating day for me," the reigning GP2 champion confessed. "I didn't find a way to set up the car to my driving style, and the pace suffered as a result. It's strange that on the first morning we had ok pace, then it's been dropping off during the week.

"Perhaps the problem is the hard tyre, but we will have to analyse all the data. At the moment it doesn't bode well for Australia, but we have a couple of weeks to turn things around."

"Given the mixed weather we faced here last week, it was important to complete more running over these three days," added senior general chassis manager Pascal Vasselon. "This week shows that our preparations for Melbourne have been going very well.

"After Jarno's satisfying long run yesterday we did some very fruitful qualifying simulations today, so we feel ready for the first race. Timo was more unfortunate to have a small 'off' at the start of his qualifying simulation, compromising his run plan today, but we have done enough mileage so far over the winter to be confident that we can head to Melbourne without any major concerns."

RBR ace Coulthard's showing was particularly noteworthy up in second place, after he had been forced to sit out Tuesday's running to allow for treatment to a trapped nerve in his neck. The Scot tried out the latest aerodynamic updates to the promising RB4 that team-mate Mark Webber had run for the first time on the second day. The Aussie spent day three concentrating on fine-tuning the set-up prior to Melbourne.

"This was the last test session until after the Bahrain GP," commented a satisfied chief test engineer Ian Morgan," and in many ways, for those of us on the test team, it feels like the end of a season that has run pretty much non-stop since the end of last year.

"The result of all the hard work is that the cars go to Australia having completed a high mileage, showing good reliability and what seems like an encouraging level of performance. Now it's a case of getting to Melbourne to see where we really are."

Nico Rosberg again ensured Williams remained at the sharp end of proceedings, as the young German lapped third-fastest behind the wheel of the Grove-based concern's impressive FW30.

"We've had a very successful test," the inaugural GP2 title-winner underlined, "and run through lots of items. We also ran the new aero package for Melbourne which really was positive. Reliability-wise, we're looking pretty good, I think; we've definitely moved forward. The aero department has made some good progress over the winter too, and they've done a nice job.

"I want to thank the test team for working so hard, as they always do over the winter. Toyota has also done a good job for us, providing a nicely-controlled engine which is an asset with the ban of traction control. I'm now looking forward to getting to Australia. It should be a lot of fun, but it's going to be close in the middle of the field so we'll have to see how we do."

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima was half a second and five places back in eighth, but the Japanese rookie is leaving Barcelona in similarly confident spirits for the challenge that lies ahead.

"We've now finished all of our testing before the season starts," he confirmed, "and it's gone really quickly for me! The test this week in Barcelona has been really positive. The weather wasn't ideal on day one, but we managed to finish what we wanted to do. Personally, it was good practice for me to do the two race distances we covered as well.

"I feel ready for the season and I'm looking forward to actually racing now. Thank you to all the guys who have worked so hard over the winter to get us to where we are today - we're certainly heading in the right direction."

"Today marked the end of a long, but productive winter test period," added Williams technical director Sam Michael, "and Nico and Kazuki have worked hard all week on the finishing touches. All of the systems on the FW30 have been checked thoroughly, and we've signed off the performance parts ready for the first race.

"The car has completed numerous race simulations on the track, but we won't know its true competitiveness until the first few races. Thank you to all of the people who have put in a great deal of effort to get the FW30 to the level it is at now. We can't wait to get to Melbourne to see how the field forms up and to get racing again!"

Heikki Kovalainen was the top runner from one of the 'grandee' teams in fourth position, as the Finn and McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton covered almost 1,000km between them throughout the day. The Briton ended up tenth-fastest, seven tenths adrift of Kovalainen.

"As is always the case at the final full test of a winter season, it has been a busy week for the team in Barcelona," summarised McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh. "Our engineering team placed high expectations on the team from a programme perspective, and the improving weather conditions during the three days have enabled [us] to complete all the requirements.

"Today the focus on-track was similar to yesterday, with a concentration on longer runs. Both the test and race teams were present in Barcelona, with the latter completing their process of familiarisation with the MP4-23. This included race simulations, qualifying runs and pit-stop practices as we make our final preparations for the start of the 2008 season.

"With the cars leaving the McLaren Technology Centre for Australia on Thursday 6 March, we are taking the opportunity in the early part of next week to conduct some final straight-line aerodynamic work in Menorca.

"Prior to this we have covered approximately 14,275 test kilometres over 21 days of intensive development. The pace of work on the test track and back at base in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart has been outstanding, and it will continue at this rate building up to and during the season."

Nelsinho Piquet and Fernando Alonso were evenly-matched in sixth and seventh places respectively for Renault, the duo completing a marathon 242 laps between them and ending the day split by just over a hundredth of a second. Both drivers completed set-up programmes in the morning and then long runs in the afternoon, providing the mechanics with another chance to go through pit-stop drills.

The team reported good reliability and the collection of valuable data, and now Alonso and Piquet are getting set to travel to Australia at the end of next week, in order to complete some fitness training and acclimatise themselves to the time difference ahead of the season curtain-raiser.

"We had a large programme to complete over the three days," remarked the R?gie's chief test engineer Christian Silk, "and we were quite ambitious with what we were working on. For the most part we managed to complete everything we wanted, and we have completed all our homework in time for Melbourne.

"Between now and the first race we need to tidy up the cars as much as possible, and get all the new parts onto them that we have looked at during testing to get them into race specification. Obviously we still have a lot of work to do from these tests, because we've had three tests back-to-back and not had much chance to analyse the data and understand what has happened. That is what will happen back at the factories; there will be an element of thinking about what has happened over these tests and using that information for the first race."

Defending World Drivers' Champion Kimi Raikkonen set the ninth-quickest time for Ferrari, a fraction ahead of Hamilton in Maranello's likely battle for supremacy with its Woking-based rival. Team-mate Felipe Massa was three tenths of a second and four spots further down the order as the Scuderia's two drivers focused on different programmes, the Finn conducting a race simulation - repeatedly interrupted by red flags - and the Brazilian carrying out set-up work. Using up the remaining kilometres of engine life in his car, the latter completed just 49 laps to Raikkonen's 80.

The Prancing Horse will next be on track on 6 March at Fiorano, where Luca Badoer will be entrusted with the final shakedown of the cars that will be used in the Australian Grand Prix.

Giancarlo Fisichella ended the day twelfth-fastest as Force India concluded its maiden test with the new aero package on the VJM01. The team continued its simulation of a race weekend, with set-up and qualifying work in the morning and long race-distance runs in the afternoon. Despite the session once more being punctuated by red flags, the former Spyker outfit nevertheless succeeded in completing its programmes for both the day and the test. The squad will now return to its Silverstone base to finalise preparations for the opening race of the new campaign.

"It's been a good day," asserted Fisichella at the close of play, "and once again we did over 100 laps. We completed a race distance and, apart from the red flags, everything is going well. I am quite happy; first of all the car balance was very good, and then the times were very consistent.

"We are quite close to most of the other people, which is also encouraging. The team did a good job and I am very happy with the atmosphere now."

Team-mate Adrian Sutil finished up 16th on the eventual timing screens, three tenths of a second slower after similarly covering more than 100 laps.

"We did a lot of laps today," the German acknowledged, "and it was good to have some long runs and a race simulation. Unfortunately the longer stints were not so good - mainly we were struggling a little bit to find the right tyre pressures.

"The most important thing, though, was that we did a full race distance, and when we come back here it will be in completely different conditions. The qualifying simulation in the morning went well, and I am convinced for the next outing in Melbourne we will be fine. I am confident."

"A reasonable end to the test," concluded chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne, "although we did have slightly more problems than on the other two days. Our main aim was to do a full race distance with both cars, which we managed to achieve in the end despite the red flags and an exhaust problem on Giancarlo's car.

"Overall the race pace was very good - particularly Giancarlo's - and [we were] competitive over the three days. We have actually made a step forward and we know we have got another substantial improvement for Melbourne, so well done to all the team for its hard work. We will now go back to the factory to get ready for the first race of the season."

The two BMW-Sauber drivers wound up a low-key 14th and 17th as testing ended, Robert Kubica out-pointing team-mate Nick Heidfeld by just over three tenths. The pair worked again on the set-up of the F1.08 - the car many are predicting to be the dark horse of the season - evaluating the latest aerodynamic updates for the fast-approaching race in Melbourne. Both drivers also conducted several practice pit-stops.

"Since the roll-out of the BMW Sauber F1.08 we have made significant progress," Heidfeld summed up, despite having to make a precautionary on-track stop when sensors indicated a gearbox problem. "I can't wait for the first race to start!"

"Everybody in the team has worked flat-out to improve the car," added Kubica. "We are already in quite a strong position, and there is still a lot of potential in the car."

S?bastien Bourdais was 15th-quickest in the sole Scuderia Toro Rosso present, but that was still ahead of the Honda duo of Jenson Button and Alex Wurz, as the RA108 once again languished right at the bottom of the list. Alarmingly for the Brackley-based concern, neither driver could get to within a second of the next-slowest car - meaning with just over a fortnight now until the competitive action gets underway, they are already looking like favourites for the wooden spoon.

Bourdais covered some 98 laps behind the wheel of the interim STR2-B - the car's final running aside from a pre-Melbourne shakedown at Ferrari's private Fiorano test circuit on 3 March.

"The reason for the high mileage is that we did around a race distance each day," explained chief engineer Laurent Mekies, with STR having got through a solid 1,500km over the course of the Barcelona test, despite only running the one car throughout. "Today we again concentrated on race weekend procedures, which will be new to S?bastien when we get to Melbourne. Also on today's agenda was fine-tuning of the gearbox control systems."

Honda, for its part, spent the three days with race drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello and tester Alex Wurz concentrating on qualifying simulations, working with Bridgestone's wet and extreme wet tyres in the changeable conditions, race distances, pit-stop practices, set-up and handling, though two different problems curtailed running on day two. The team is confident these issues have now been successfully identified, however, and Honda will wind up its pre-season preparations during a private test at Jerez from 4-6 March.

"Our focus this week was to run through the requirements of a race weekend with qualifying and race practice," remarked Button, "to ensure that we are well-prepared for the start of the season.

"Our main aero updates and some new mechanical developments will arrive for the Jerez test next week, and we have a great deal to do there to ensure we are in a position to be competitive for Melbourne. We have been doing a lot of work to overcome our handling issues, but the pace and the lap times are not there yet."

"I was able to complete a lot of laps over the two days," added team-mate Barrichello, "particularly with the race distance on Monday. We had a minor concern with the engine on Tuesday which cut my race distance short, but the issue is easy to address.

"We are finding that the performance of the car is quite varied as I had a different reaction from it over the two days, so we have some set-up work to complete. It is too early to make a final comment on performance, as we have our new aero update kit to evaluate next week."

Wurz and head of race and test engineering Steve Clark echoed the two drivers' feedback, though both remained confident of making further progress before the lights go out Down Under.

"On Monday we completed a full race distance," recounted Wurz, "along with the opportunity to drive in the wet conditions, which was very useful for working on engine drivability. We have made some good steps on the drivability over the last few tests, which is pleasing.

"The programme for Wednesday concentrated on set-up evaluations and suspension development, which proved to be very interesting, and we gained a lot of understanding and data which we will work on processing before the start of the season."

"The focus of our test programme this week was to run through qualifying and race scenarios in preparation for the start of the season with our race drivers, pit crew and equipment," summarised Clark. "Running the car over a race distance and tightly-timed practice sessions highlights any reliability concerns, and ensures the team is familiar with the car and its workings. This all went well, with race practices on all three days and qualifying simulations on Monday and Tuesday.

"We also completed an evaluation of revised suspension settings on Wednesday morning to address the handling concerns that the RA108 has been experiencing, which produced some positive results. We now have a three-day test in Jerez next week - where we will be running with a completely revised aerodynamic package - to finalise our pre-season preparation."

To see the testing times in full, click here