Nico Rosberg: Mercedes can't let 2012 campaign fizzle out

The German, who had finished every race of the campaign up until Suzuka, failed to complete the first lap in either Japan or Korea - and is eager for an upturn in fortunes.

"For me the races ended very quickly," he admitted. "It was a lot of travelling for one lap and back home, and then one more lap and back home.

"So hopefully here I get beyond lap one. It is important for us to end the year on a high and keep on pushing."

Rosberg was fourth quickest in second free practice in India on Friday, in a sign that the team may have put its recent struggles behind it.

He believes that the prospect for better results is there because there is much more performance to come from the update package - and especially the Coanda-effect exhausts - that the team introduced at the Singapore GP.

"We have made the most of the upgrade, but on that route of development of the car there is so much more to go before you get the most out of that concept," he said. "So we take it step-by-step and we are trying to catch up at the moment.

"The target has to be a top-eight finish here, which in itself doesn't sound fantastic but I am sure it is possible."