Michael: Nico could have reached podium

That is the view of Williams technical director Sam Michael, who believes that Rosberg could have done even better than his strong run to seventh if he had stayed out of trouble early on.

"On pure maths, from subtracting where he finished behind to where he was behind (after his pitstop to repair the wing), he should have finished in a solid third," explained Michael.

"Whether he would have run with Michael (Schumacher) or Fernando (Alonso) I don't know, but he would have been within 10 seconds of them. Whether he could have even beaten them I don't know, but he would have been third."

Michael admitted that he was one of many at Williams who were left surprised by Rosberg's strong performance - which included several great overtaking moves and the fastest lap of the race.

"I think he surprised everyone," explained Michael. "There was just that moment at the first corner. He should not have been there and it was all his fault.

"Nick (Heidfeld) was not there to give him space, but then he came on the radio and very clearly said he was coming in for a front wing. There was no messing about or panicking about what happened.

"He came in, we then had a problem with his pitstop on the front jack and lost another 10 seconds there, so he lost about 45 seconds all up. But he got his head down and did a perfect race from there."

Rosberg backs up the belief that he would have done even better if he had not been caught up in the first corner incident - but he has no complaints about his performance.

"If you don't lose 25 seconds early on then of course you can score more points, but if and when is always easy to say," he explained. "Unfortunately I lost it like that in the corner. I haven't watched it properly on TV but it was probably my fault.

"I am very pleased though. I was quick and getting the fastest lap of the race is special on my debut. So, with the two points, I am very pleased."

Talking about his great moves on the Red Bull Racing cars, Rosberg said: "They told me on the radio that I could catch them and that is the way it is.

"I could not see the times they were doing but they said, 'push, you are catching them at one second per lap'. I thought, 'Whoa, here go,' although I thought it would be very difficult to pass them. In F1 I always heard it was impossible to pass but in the end I got there and went straight past, so I am very happy."

When asked about father Keke's reaction to his debut, Rosberg said: "I think he was happy. I am sure after the first corner he packed up and went to the hotel and watched it there, but maybe he came back after that. I am sure he was happy."