Mercedes is confident Nico Rosberg will fight through Suzuka field

Rosberg will start the 53-lap race from 23rd on the grid, ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi, after neither driver took part in Q1.

But in a race expected to be shaped significantly by tyre wear, Rosberg is hoping the extra fresh sets of tyres not used on Saturday could work in his favour during the grand prix.

"We have done a great strategy, I've managed to keep all new tyres for the race so that's going to help!" he said. "Unfortunately, it's not one of the best tracks for coming through the field, it's a bit more difficult here. But I'm going to try for sure and I think I will definitely be able to get into the top 10. To try and score some points is important."

Team principal Ross Brawn believes that Rosberg will be able to race his way through the field, particularly given his car's high top speed.

"You can overtake here and we've got one of the quickest cars on the straight so I am pretty optimistic he can have a very good race," said Brawn. "Nico now has effectively three brand new sets of options so if it is a three stop race then he is in very good shape - he's in good shape if it's a two-stop race but we have got to find a way to use those tyres to their very best.

Brawn added that the issue Rosberg suffered from in qualifying was not likely re-occur during the race.

"We had a hydraulic problem on the gearbox," he said. "It's a problem we have not seen before and it's a system we've had for a very long time so we need to understand why the problem has occurred. We don't know yet but it's a unique problem. Obviously it affects us for the race, it is something we can do within parc ferme so we don't suffer any penalties."