Nico Rosberg stunned by McLaren's old-school Mercedes performance: 'Absolutely shocking to us'

Nico Rosberg was left in shock at McLaren's third practice performance ahead of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, comparing it to the dominance he experienced with Mercedes. 

The Woking-based outfit has been flawless in Barcelona, with Oscar Piastri having topped second and third practice, whilst Lando Norris topped FP1. 

It was in the final practice ahead of qualifying though, where the papaya outfit really unleashed the MCL39's potential. 

Piastri posted a 1m 12.387 to go almost six-tenths clear of Norris in second, with Charles Leclerc almost eight-tenths behind in third. 

It marked McLaren's most remarkable performance of the season in terms of pace advantage, leaving Rosberg stunned.

"Yeah, we don't need to consider the caveats, that was a monumental performance from McLaren," Rosberg told Sky F1. "Absolutely shocking to us, we did not expect them to be that fast. 

"Seriously impressive. It kind of reminded me a bit about my Mercedes days around here, like just a different category. That car is on rails out there, really. 

"And Oscar delivered, once again, a fantastic perfect lap. There's not much movement on the car, really nailing it. 

"Especially the last corner before going into the flat out section perfectly, using the whole track width there and then carrying the speed towards the line towards the end of the lap.

"What a beautiful performance. And yeah, that was a big warning to the opposition."