GreenBkk.com Formula 1 | Rosberg eager to rejoin battle with Schumacher

Rosberg eager to rejoin battle with Schumacher

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher take the wraps off Mercedes' new car © Sutton Images

Nico Rosberg admits he has felt the weight of expectation grow since beating Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher in the drivers' championship last year.

Rosberg beat Schumacher by 70 points in their first season driving side-by-side, after the seven-time world champion struggled to hit his form coming back from three years on the sidelines.

When asked if he felt expectations had grown as a result, Rosberg said: "From what I see I think so, yes. Because of the fact I beat my team-mate last year, I think that's something that has worked well for me in terms of other people's perceptions. But I know that it's going to be difficult against him this year and I know that it's going to be a tough battle between us and hopefully I can be ahead again."

Schumacher is expected to be stronger this year as a result of the switch to Pirelli tyres and having more input on the development of the Mercedes W02. Rosberg was asked if he expected to see the "old Schumacher" as a result.

"Who's saying that it wasn't the old Michael last year? Look, Michael is driving a silver arrow and the combination of the two ... you always have to reckon with that. He had a bit more of a difficult season last year, but it's one year further down the road again and I go into the year knowing that I have to beat him again."

After his first miles in the new car he said he felt comfortable with the handling of the W02 but admitted there was still work to do.

"It was good, the positive thing is that I felt at home straight away, it didn't feel like a different car that I don't know and doesn't feel nice, so that's a very important thing straight away. As for the initial impression, it's difficult to compare obviously with the Pirelli tyres as I just did one test with them back in November. So it's a bit difficult, a different track stuff like that. But the general impression is that it felt quite good."

He added: "Generally with the aerodynamics there is still a lot to come in the next few weeks. I think we'll make quite a lot of progress still, like I guess many other teams too."

Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)