Italian Jarno Trulli gave under-performing Toyota a much-needed boost when he lapped fastest on the final day of Formula One's last pre-season test in Barcelona on Wednesday.

"We made some progress in understanding the car and the set-up," said Trulli, who set his best time of 1:20.801 during a mock qualifying run on a sunny morning at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"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," he added in a team statement.

"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," said Trulli. Toyota finished 2007 in sixth place with just 13 points despite having one of the biggest budgets in the sport.

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix is on March 16 and most teams will not test again until April when they return to Europe after three races in the Far and Middle East.

Red Bull's David Coulthard, who missed Tuesday's session due to a trapped nerve, returned to action for the final day and ended second fastest in 1:21.258 with Germany's Nico Rosberg third for Williams.

Finland's Heikki Kovalainen was fourth for McLaren with British team-mate Lewis Hamilton, last year's runner-up in an extraordinary debut season, 10th and a fraction slower than Ferrari's champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Mercedes-powered McLaren said they had covered 14,275 km in 21 days of pre-season testing since January 9 - 750km more than last year. The team said the MP4-23 cars would be flown to Melbourne on March 6 after final straight-line aerodynamic testing in Menorca early next week.

Champions Ferrari said test driver Luca Badoer would give both the Melbourne cars a final 'shakedown' at the team's Fiorano circuit in Italy on March 6.