Nico Rosberg’s season starts at China

After a disappointing start to the 2012 season, Nico Rosberg has expressed his desire to start afresh in China next weekend after finishing 12th and 13th in the opening two races respectively. The German has had a relatively successful history at the Shanghai Circuit, finishing on the podium in 2010 and leading for a period last year.

With Ross Brawn and Norbert Haug confident on the teams tyre issues now solved, both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are confident they can show their true pace throughout the Chinese Grand Prix. With the longest straight in Formula 1 occurring at this circuit, Mercedes are eager to see whether their ‘super’ DRS will have an affect on their pace throughout the weekend.

“I have good memories of the Chinese Grand Prix as I was on the podium there in 2010 and led the race last year.” Explained Nico Rosberg, who is still hunting for his maiden Grand Prix victory, “I like the Shanghai International Circuit very much with its many unique, long corners. For me, China is really the start of the season as the first two races have not gone to plan. We know that we have a quick car, but we are looking to improve our long run pace in China next weekend and to have a better race performance.”

Nico Rosberg’s team-mate, 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, has never had much success around the Shanghai circuit, only winning once in 2006 which was incidentally his last win to date. However, Schumacher is also confident on a change of luck in China, particularly in Mercedes maintaining their qualifying pace throughout a full race distance.

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