Nico Rosberg is delighted with the early progress of Williams’ new car for 2008, the FW30.
The Toyota-powered single seater made its track debut this week over four days at Valencia, and Rosberg and his 2008 teammate Kazuki Nakajima spent the balance of the test not far from the leading pace.
“My feeling from the very beginning was good, and that is always a good sign,” said 22-year-old Rosberg, who on Tuesday was outpaced only by Ferrari’s impressive F2008.
The German, who scored 20 of the Oxfordshire based team’s 33 points in 2007, told the website of the broadcaster RTL: “(The car) is certainly a step forward.
“I wouldn’t say, ‘wow, this is amazing’ — that would be excessive,” Rosberg remarked.
“And it is still early. But for the season it is a good and promising start,” he added, insisting that Williams should be targeting Renault and BMW for 2008.
Williams technical director Sam Michael was also pleased with the FW30’s opening test, saying Valencia had been a “good beginning from a reliability and performance point of view”.
