Williams praise 'mature' Rosberg

Rosberg missed out on points at Sepang on Sunday after suffering a mechanical failure while running sixth, but his strong pace in qualifying and the race, plus his drive to seventh in Australia, suggest that the Williams driver has lifted his game this season.

And Michael, who guided Rosberg during his rookie season in 2006, is adamant that the former GP2 champion is approaching F1 much better than last year.

"Yeah, definitely," Michael said when asked by autosport.com about whether the team felt Rosberg had made a step forward with his performance this season.

"He obviously went away and thought about things over the winter. And I have seen that a lot in drivers' careers to be honest.

"They have their rookie year, make all their mistakes, although he didn't make that many mistakes, maybe two or three. They do all that, go away and think about it and come back a lot stronger.

"We are only the second race in, so let's see what it is like after four or five races. He is doing a good job, a solid effort."

Michael feels that Rosberg is not working any harder than he did last season, but is just more focused in where he applies his efforts.

"I think he has always been quite dedicated, but it is just maturity and having been there and done it properly and not properly a few more times than not.

"He is also using us more effectively. He has never been one to shy of hard work. He is a pretty hard worker, but once you see things a few more times you understand what are the important things to concentrate on. That is where he coming  from. He is doing a good job."