In many respects, Hamilton is in a similar position to that of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 1996. Schumacher had left a top team and gone to Italy to rescue the struggling Ferrari team. It was clear that Schumacher would not challenge for the title that year, and he didn’t, but he also put in some inspired and brilliant performances, particularly in Spain where he dominated a sodden Grand Prix and made the other drivers look like amateurs. Schumacher may not have won the title, but his stock certainly went up as he was recognised for his supreme skill in a difficult car.

Hamilton has similarly moved from a top team (McLaren) to one that was not a title challenger last season (Mercedes). In the last three seasons, the works Mercedes team has won just a single race and never looked like producing a title-winning car. Hamilton has arrived at the team as part of a shake-up intended to deliver championship glory to Mercedes. At the earliest, he and the team are expected to challenge at the front in 2014, when new engine regulations are likely to benefit teams like Mercedes that manufacture their own engines. So this season is dedicated to development, to making sure the pieces are in place for a title challenge next year.

But Hamilton, much like Schumacher back in 1996, is a racer. He is acknowledged as perhaps the quickest driver in Formula One today, and can always be counted on to give his all on the track in pursuit of results. Hamilton does not like coming second. So we can expect him to push with everything he has for victory in 2013.

If Hamilton and Mercedes to triumph against the odds in 2013, it will be a great story for Formula One: the return of one of the great names of motoring to the top of the racing ladder, along with the second title that seems inevitable in Hamilton’s career. On the other hand, if as expected Hamilton and Mercedes have a strong but ultimately unsuccessful season, it will all be accepted as part of the development plan.

148 laps of the Jerez circuit is a long, long way to drive in a Formula One car. Each lap is 4.428km long, which means Rosberg covered a little over 655km in a single day – over two full race distances. Esteban Gutierrez in the Sauber was next on 110 laps, some way behind Rosberg.

Although Mercedes put a lot of mileage on the new car, which is essential at this stage of testing, their work is only just beginning. With only 12 days of pre-season testing in total, and two mostly lost to reliability issues, the team has to effectively squash its testing schedule into 10 days – not ideal for a team that wants to win races this season.

But Mercedes are clearly going about recovering from their early setbacks as well as they possibly can. After his running ended prematurely on day two, new Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said, “If we can get 110 to 120 laps per day then that would be a good comeback.” The team has easily beaten that aim, and will no doubt look to do so again when testing resumes on day four.

It’s only the second day of pre-season testing, but Mercedes have now had problems on both days that have resulted in limited running. Yesterday saw the car stop on track due to an electrical failure after only three runs in the morning, and today’s accident happened after only 15 laps. The lack of running will be frustrating for all at Mercedes. After all, testing is all about spending time on the track to learn about the car and troubleshoot issues.

On the plus side for Mercedes, it is still early in the testing schedule, which means there is time to iron out issues like those yesterday and today that negatively impact the reliability of the car.

Hamilton will be back in the car for the final day of the Jerez test on Friday.

There has been a flood of #F1W04Reveal tweets since the news of the early reveal broke on the team’s website yesterday. Hits at chrisonf1.com and mercamgf1-fans.com have spiked significantly as eager fans searched for photos of the car that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will drive in 2013.

The garage door is opening very slowly, but the car is becoming steadily more visible as time goes by. So far, it is clear that the stepped nose of 2012 has been covered, as seen on all of the launched cars except the Lotus E21. It also looks like the front wing has had undergone some serious revision.

Photos of the car will be available at chrisonf1.com after the formal launch tomorrow 4 February.

Although the image is not very clear for obvious reasons, it does seem to show a stepped nose similar to that on last year’s W03. The lack of cover on the step suggests that Lotus’s James Allison was not alone in seeing no point in pursuing aesthetics for no performance gain. It is likely that stepped noses will continue to be a feature of most of the cars this season.

Other features that are visible on the W04 teaser are Petronas branding on the rear wing and sidepods, which is carried over from the W03 and a normal air intake above the driver’s head – Mercedes experimented with a split intake in 2010, but have apparently abandoned the idea permanently.

Mercedes have given nothing away in the teaser. In fact, if not for the W04 text on the image, it could just as well be the 2012 car. Any new and interesting visual features on the car will have to wait for the launch on Monday.