Rosberg laments F1's highs and lows

The German took his maiden podium in Melbourne with a strong run to third place, as his Williams team appeared able to take the fight to BMW Sauber in the battle behind McLaren and Ferrari.

But with his FW30 appearing unsuited to the new asphalt surface at Sepang, Rosberg could manage no better than 16th in qualifying at Sepang.

Speaking to autosport.com ahead of the race on Sunday, a philosophical Rosberg said: "It's a tough sport, isn't it? I was super happy and we come here and it couldn't be worse. It is unbelievable."

Rosberg admitted that he and the team were baffled about why their tyres were not producing grip in Malaysia - especially as it was not just a simple case of them not generating heat in their rubber.

"The reason is that the asphalt is new here and our car doesn't make the tyres work. That is the main problem. But you can also see that the order is all mixed up. There is a Toyota all the way up front, and McLaren have dropped miles away from Ferrari.

"We don't know what our problem is. The tyres just don't work. The temperatures are massive, it is 40 degrees out there, so it can't be temperature."

Despite his lowly grid position, Rosberg still feels that a points finish may be possible in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

"It will be better over long runs, but if it is good enough I don't know. If it is dry we might get 10th, and if others drop out then a point is possible. Otherwise I hope for rain I think."