Rosberg optimistic of 'great' season

"I have a lot of belief in myself so I hope that I can have a great year," said Rosberg during the launch of his team's new car.

"Honestly now I have to wait for the new car which comes out next week.

"So I  am going to have to wait for that and I am really looking forward to trying that because for a long time now I have been driving the old car.

"And then we can see where we are."

Twenty-year old Rosberg will make his Grand Prix debut this year after having clinched last year's inaugural GP2 title.

Rosberg will partner Australian Mark Webber at the team.

The German driver, the son of 1982 World Champion Keke, says baring the Rosberg surname has helped him throughout his career, although sometimes, he claims, it has been a burden too.

"It has been a great help to me during my career," he said. "It has helped me find sponsors and the media is interested in me because of my name. Also it's been big even with F1 teams showing interest in me. It even goes that far.

"When I first got into the Williams team back in 2002 it was because of my name, so it has helped a lot. On the other hand it has been a bit of a burden in the fact that people always compare me to my father. In every interview there is at least a quarter of it about my father. It does become a bit heavy so I try to see the positive side.

"It's a great thing for me to have such a father especially since he can give me a lot of great advice. He is a very clever person and he has been through a lot so he can give me good advice.

"Not in the car because you can't make someone go fast, you either have the talent or you don't, but outside the car the way I go about things like interviews he can give me a lot of great help."