Nico Rosberg had hoped for more from the season opening Australian Grand prix after qualifying his Williams Toyota in fifth position.The German ran as high as fourth in the 58-lap race before dropping down to take the chequered flag seventh, later promoted to sixth overall. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima also ran well in his FW31 before hooking his car on the kerbs at turn four and crashing out of the race.
Last year in Malaysia Rosberg and Nakajima finish 14th and 17th, but the team are confident that with their new technical package, they will be able to challenge for podium positions this time out.
Nico Rosberg
"Of course we would have liked to have achieved more in Melbourne, but three solid points was a good start. More encouraging was our pace as we were right there with the quickest, which makes me hopeful for a good season.”
“The climate (in Malaysia) makes the racing very demanding for driver and machine. The heat and humidity means that it is physically exhausting and this is one track where the fitness training over the winter really pays off. I love the country, there is a nice warmth about the people too and like almost everywhere in Asia, I like the food, so it is a good place to visit every year.”
“In Melbourne I found this (late start time) a big concern as towards the end of the race the visibility was very poor, which increased the danger in my view as it was more likely that you could make a mistake. I’d rather the race changed back to its original start time or became a proper night race - that would improve matters a lot.”
Kazuki Nakajima
“For me, Sepang is one of the most exciting tracks we visit during the year. That doesn’t mean it is an easy track, far from it, as it has some complex and technical corner sequences and some that demand special attention such as turns 11 and 14 where your braking and turn-in sequence is different to say the least. Malaysia is closer to my home country than many of the places we visit, so I find it more familiar in terms of the culture, the food etc. I raced at Sepang in Japanese GT, so I am also a bit better acquainted with the place, but of course the heat and the humidity are quite exceptional.”
“I was running as high as P4 and this would have improved to P3 when Rubens pitted (in Melbourne), so I can’t deny the sense of disappointment in how the race turned out, but I have shut this out of my mind already and I am only taking the positives of the potential we showed with me to Malaysia.”
“It was difficult with the low sunlight in Australia, especially as the light flickered and changed under the tree cover. We won’t have this type of shadow at Sepang, but there is a different issue which is the possibility of reduced light conditions mixed with the likelihood of rain, so for sure these late race start times will have a bearing on my approach to qualifying and the race.”
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