Germany's Nico Hulkenberg handed Force India a confidence boost on Wednesday when he clocked the fastest time in pre-season testing after an exhausting day's drive.

Hulkenberg timed 1min 22.608sec from a total of 112 laps with Sauber's Sergio Perez in second spot and world champion Sebastien Vettel, who had been quickest in the morning, finishing third fastest.

Testing continues until Friday and there will be a final series of testing back here on March 1-4, before the teams travel to Australia for the opening race of the season in Melbourne on March 18.

Leading times:

1. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India-Mercedes) 1:22.608 (112 laps), 2. Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber-Ferrari) 1:22.648 (85), 3. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull-Renault) 1:22.891 (104), 4. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari) 1:23.180 (87), 5. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso-Ferrari) 1:23.639 (49), 6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:23.806 (121), 7. Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes-AMG) 1:24.555 (82), 8. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Williams-Renault) 1:25.738 (117), 9. Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham-Renault) 1:26.605 (69), 10. Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia-Cosworth) 1:27.343 (109)

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