Nico Rosberg says it's time to deliver for Mercedes F1 team

On the back of the restructuring that has taken place at the Brackley-based outfit since Mercedes-Benz took over, plus the recruitment of high-profile technical figures like Bob Bell, Geoff Willis and Aldo Costa, Rosberg thinks the time has come for the team to show it is heading in the right direction.

"For me it is very clear that we need to start our progress on the upward trend now," said Rosberg at Barcelona on Tuesday.

"We are on a very good path towards that, especially in the factory you can feel that the whole organisation is strengthened.

"Things are working better, people are working better together and the whole atmosphere is much more positive now. There is a good feeling in the factory, so you can feel the upward trend is now starting.

"What that will be in terms of results and positions I don't know yet, but it needs to be progress. I am confident that we can make that happen."

Rosberg says his early impressions of the new W03 car have been encouraging, even though it is hard to gauge its competitiveness because of the change in regulations this year.

"We did quite a few laps on Sunday, and the impressions were positive in general but difficult in terms of pace to get a real feel," he said. "It was more just the general impression of the car, how it was put together - the general feel of it.

"It is agile, easy to drive, and looking at it also, everything is working as expected, so generally it is a much more positive start. That was the first impression."