Rosberg hopeful of podium finishes

With the car having shown some solid pace in pre-season testing, Rosberg is heading into next weekend's Australian Grand Prix realistic about his prospects.

"Winter testing has been good, but I think we are not where we want to be just yet," he said. "However, the potential for development is huge because of the new rules, so we will be looking to making strong progress throughout the year to get closer to the podium."

Rosberg scored a podium finish in last year's incident-filled Melbourne race, and although mindful that his Williams needs to be quicker, he has not ruled out making another strong start to the campaign.

"I'm really looking forward to getting out onto the Albert Park track," he said. "I had a great race in Melbourne in 2008 and I am determined that we will have a similarly strong start to this season. In character, it's a very challenging semi-street circuit which usually suits our car well."