Nico Rosberg believes his Mercedes team can quickly get on the top of the tire degradation issues which hampered its chances in Australia.
The team had looked a serious threat for a podium finish in Melbourne, with Michael Schumacher and Rosberg running in third and fourth places after the first corner of the race. But its race turned to disappointment, as Schumacher retired with a gearbox problem and Rosberg slipped down the order with tire degradation, before a late collision with Sergio Perez gave him a puncture.
Although its situation would point to some trepidation ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix – where the track characteristics and high temperatures will make tire management crucial – Rosberg is upbeat that the team can put in place changes to make its situation better.
"You can do a lot," explained the German. "It is early days and there are so many new things on the car. With a good analysis of the car and what's going on, and also setup wise, you can improve things. [Sepang] is also a different track and different circumstances, so it can all look very different."
Rosberg believes that a poor balance to his car was the main contributor to his struggles in the race.
"There was a lot going on [in the race], and unfortunately car wise we were not where we wanted to be," he said. "We were not quite good enough, I think, with the balance, and we were wearing the tires a little bit more than other people. So, we need to look into that and learn what we can do. I'm sure we'll bounce back next weekend.
"My start was great so thanks to my engineer, who did a fantastic job moving me up from seventh to fourth. That was nice but from then on it was a bit more difficult."