Rosberg believes in the possibility of beating Schumacher

Nico Rosberg has refused to acknowledge that Michael Schumacher outclassed him during F1 winter testing.

The twenty-four year old German, who has been in F1 for four seasons now and has only collected two podiums in his career so far, this year will have the seven-time world champion as his teammate at Mercedes.

But when asked by the German newspaper Bild who was the fastest driver in the W01 during pre-season testing, Rosberg replied: "It's difficult to say."

“We basically didn't drive on the same track on the same day."

“I think Michael respects me a little more after the tests and this is important for me. Above all, I wanted to show the team that the car goes fast even when I'm driving it.”

Rosberg, son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, has warned that he does not see himself chasing Schumacher in 2010.

The pilot also said that his only weakness will perhaps be his "too much ambition."

“I will definitely be on par with him and win some races this year. But to do that I have to beat him now and then."

“But Michael is the greatest driver in history and certainly not without reason,” he added.

Rosberg therefore admits that he or his rivals will not easily be able to leave the veteran German far behind.

“It may not be the case, but the tests have shown that there are at least four teams with very similar performances and one of these eight drivers will be eighth in the championship at most,” he concluded.