Rosberg: long-term stability key for Mercedes F1 team

With a new senior management structure in place - which includes the arrival of Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff, plus the departure of Norbert Haug - the German car manufacturer has shown how committed it is to making a success of its outfit.

But, ahead of the arrival of Paddy Lowe in a senior role next season, there have been questions about the long-term future of current team principal Ross Brawn.

Rosberg said at Barcelona, however, that from his perspective the winter changes were essential, but he thinks now the most important thing is for the team to settle down.

When asked by AUTOSPORT about his feelings on what has happened over the winter, Rosberg said: "First of all, short term, all of the changes haven't had much impact.

"That is good as we need some continuity there for very short term - with continuous development, and continuing the development slope that we are on right now.

"You need continuity there in terms of who is in charge, and who is doing what. There we have some stability. Longer term, there have been some changes.

"The way we were going, we weren't going to be the best team out there. That became pretty clear, so change was necessary definitely - especially in terms of the addition of more people and resources to the team.

"This has been done continuously now for the last one and a half years. And that is definitely starting to show - and the new people that have joined at the top have also had a good impact already."

One of the dangers that Mercedes faces, however, is that the merits of the management team are likely to be judged on the early form of the W04.

Rosberg conceded that some onlookers may jump to such conclusions, but said they would be wrong to do so because the impact of the staffing overhaul would not be felt for months.

"They shouldn't [judge] because that is not really for the management structure to have an influence on," he said. "It is going to be a bit more longer term [than that]."