Actions must speak louder than words for Rosberg

When Nico Rosberg missed out on the 2014 Formula 1 world title to Mercedes team-mate and childhood friend Lewis Hamilton, the German vowed to work hard and come back stronger.

Rosberg could take heart from some impressive performances, including victory around the streets of Monaco and on home soil at Hockenheim, as he controlled the championship from late May to mid-September in what was his first season as a genuine title contender.

"I saw glimpses of success last year and I want to make it happen this year," said Rosberg at Mercedes' first press conference of 2015 in Melbourne. "It's my dream to be F1 world champion." He went on to eloquently talk about how, at 29, he is not yet at his peak of performance. He was saying all the right things.

In contrast, Hamilton appeared distracted and kept his answers short. He seemed more interested in examining the detailing on his new helmet, which sat on a table beside him. When asked about his thoughts on the season, the reigning world champion said: "I anticipate a very similar season to last year," before returning his attention to his helmet.

Rosberg made all of the right noises ahead of the first race of the year © LAT

If you were to score that first battle of 2015, you could argue Rosberg came out on top. And he stayed there on Friday at Albert Park, topping both practice sessions.

But that's about as good as it got as Hamilton hit back, when it mattered, clinching top spot in final practice before dominating in qualifying as he beat Rosberg by a massive 0.594s to take pole.

Since then, Rosberg has been trying to hang on to his team-mate's coat tails, but after two races already that grip is slipping.

Rosberg blamed mistakes for that sizeable gap and said he remained confident he could match Hamilton's pace.

"Lewis did an awesome job and nailed it all the time," he said. "For me, the speed was there, I just didn't get it together. I'm not worried about pace at all, to be honest."

But when the rain hit during qualifying in Malaysia, while Hamilton danced his Mercedes around Sepang on his first flying lap, Rosberg appeared lost in the tricky conditions and ended up 1.2s adrift. He even asked his engineer what racing lines "the guy who is first" was trying.

His team was unable to help, as driver coaching is banned, but it highlighted Rosberg's desperation.

"I just didn't drive well enough, so that's why I'm annoyed," he said after qualifying. "Because it was unusual conditions out there, which we hadn't practised, I was just interested to hear what the guy who was first did in terms of lines.

While Hamilton took pole, Rosberg floundered in Malaysia's wet Q3 © XPB

"I didn't know it was Lewis so I just asked what lines he was doing - was it dry or more towards wet? That information is banned so I got a reply, 'I can't tell you'."

While Hamilton was delivering, Rosberg was searching for answers and did not have the artillery to respond.

That's particularly worrying for Rosberg because qualifying was one area where he looked to have the advantage over Hamilton in 2014, taking 11 poles to the Briton's seven.

But on the evidence of this year so far - albeit two race weekends - Rosberg seems to have lost that edge, making mistakes when it matters, while Hamilton, who struggled on the one-lap shootout last year, is oozing confidence.

Race day results don't make for much better reading either, with Hamilton picking up where he left off in 2014.

"A race is a constantly evolving beast and you've got to live by your senses - and that's where Lewis is stronger," said ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson.

"When you're going through the race with changeable conditions, there's no way you can stop, have a look at the data and then go back out again. You're there, surviving by yourself."

And that's what Rosberg needs to prove he's capable of doing.

In Malaysia, he was unlucky in that he was forced to stack behind Hamilton during the first stops, but he didn't cut back through the traffic as efficiently as his team-mate and though quicker in the closing stages, he was unable to challenge.

And not only was Rosberg beaten by Hamilton, but also Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who showed that a rival car could well get in the way during the title battle this season, unlike last year.

As was so often the case in 2014, Rosberg followed Hamilton in the opener © LAT

Off track, Rosberg has complimented his team-mate, praising his lap in Melbourne qualifying and saying he drove like a world champion. Some might say that presents the German in a position of weakness.

Meanwhile, he said in Australia that he wanted Ferrari to get closer, only for the Scuderia to beat Mercedes at the very next race.

Rosberg backtracked when questioned about it after the race at Sepang, saying: "There's a big difference in getting close and beating us when faster. I'm the opposite of happy, but on behalf of our team, bring it on - we're going to fight back big-time."

But it's on track where Rosberg really needs to start winning the battles.

Racer-turned-pundit Martin Brundle says that if he wants to have any chance of beating Hamilton to the title, he needs to come out on top in wheel-to-wheel combat "because he never passed him and made it stick last year".

With Hamilton's confidence building with every race, Rosberg needs to fight back - and fast.

The scene of Rosberg's first win; success in China would jumpstart his season © XPB

Rosberg concedes that he has work to do and this weekend's race in China would be the perfect place for him to do that, as not only is it the scene of his first pole position and first race victory back in 2012, but it's also a track which he believes suits him well.

"The last race weekend was not great for me," he said. "We've definitely learned some lessons and it's time to take that to the track in China.

"It's not been a perfect start to my sixth year with the team and I'm determined to turn that around this weekend. This is a track that has always suited me well, so I'm aiming to put in a strong weekend."

Last year's grand prix in Shanghai was skewed for Rosberg as he suffered a loss of telemetry before the start, followed by a poor getaway that dropped him to sixth, which meant that although he fought back to second behind race winner Hamilton, we never saw if he could take on his team-mate in a straight fight.

Ultimately, if Rosberg doesn't cut out the mistakes and start putting pressure on Hamilton soon, he faces the prospect of a season where, once more, he will be perceived as but second-best to a driver who has been beating him since they were 13...