Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Australian GPNico Rosberg said he was happy to collect points at the Australian Grand Prix, where the German driver finished in fifth position.

"Fifth place is a good result after a mixed-up race today," said the Mercedes driver, who had finished in sixth at the Bahrain Grand Prix two weeks ago.

"I had a bad start in the wet and after that we lacked pace and I struggled with the option tire. The rear degradation was pretty bad so we decided to go for a second stop and get some fresh tires to try to attack the group ahead. "Even with the tire advantage, it would have been difficult to pass once we caught up and therefore it was good to make up a couple of places when Mark and Lewis had an incident, so I'm pleased with that.

"We need to keep on taking the points while we improve the car so overall it was a decent weekend," added Rosberg.

Teammate Michael Schumacher had a difficult day after making contact with Fernando Alonso at the start. The seven-time champion was forced to pit to repair his front wing and could only climb up to 10th position in the end.

"I could have had a good race today, so it was a pity that I was hit right after the start," Schumacher said. "That incident decided my race, obviously. But things like that happen and you have to just say, 'That's racing.'

"I had to take the remainder of the race from last position but I have to say that I was still having fun as our pace today was promising and for part of the race, we were going quicker than the top group. It was nice to pick up a point and we can take that good feeling into the next race, where we will look forward to another challenge."