If Nico Rosberg is determined to remain in contention for this year’s world championship, he must raise his game and acquire an edge over team mate Lewis Hamilton, something which, by his own admittance, will start with an improved qualifying performance this weekend.

“Canada was really lost for me on the Saturday,” said Rosberg. “Not getting everything together in qualifying hurt my chances big time – but I had the pace and that’s a big positive to take forward and go maximum attack in Austria. My first race at this track last year couldn’t have been much better.”

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Indeed, Rosberg will be seeking to repeat his victorious 2014 performance at the Red Bull Ring exactly at a time when he needs to regain the ground lost over his team mate following Hamilton’s brilliant drive in Montreal.

“Of course, we didn’t have the ideal start in qualifying – but we nailed it on Sunday and it was great to get the win. I’m sure we’ll have some tough competition here once again with Williams and probably some others too. But it’s a circuit I really enjoy driving and the crowds are unbelievable, so I’m looking forward to getting back out there and having a good battle. Of course, it’s a home race for Niki and Toto too, so we’ll need to be on our best form for this one!”

Another dominant performance in Austria by Hamilton, who clearly has the upper hand at Mercedes right now, would most probably deal a definitive blow to Rosberg’s psych, hence the German’s need to deliver the goods this weekend.