For AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg the 2008 Formula One season would be one of frustration with the Williams team struggling to provide him with a car that performed well over the course of the season. The only highpoints in Nico's season would be a third in the opening race in Australia and a second in the Singapore Grand Prix. Apart from these two results the rest of the season was slim pickings.

Despite the difficult season Nico is still with the Williams team in 2009 and is looking forward to being able to turn things around. The 2009 season will see all the teams having to cope with a large number of rule changes which should see the season far more open.

In a recent interview for formula1.com Nico spoke of how disappointing his 2008 season was, even with the highlights of the races in Australia and Singapore.

Nico said: "It obviously was a very disappointing season for me in general. I had high hopes with the team, especially after 2007. I really thought that we would be able to carry the momentum into ’08 and continue to improve, but it wasn’t to be. I am thankful still that on occasion my car was okay and I was able to show that I can still drive a race car, which is important as you need to keep your reputation. On these occasions I was able to put some highlights into my overcast season, which was nice, but in general it was quite disappointing. We simply were not fast enough."

As for whether his performances over the season have harmed his standing as one driver to be watched Nico still believes that he has what it takes. Nico added: "I am a better driver now than I have ever been. I believe in myself and I am convinced that I have what it takes to get to the very top. It just seems I have to be a bit patient."

As for having to stay with Williams in 2009 Nico recognised that he had no other option but to stay due to his contract with the Williams team. But as the 2009 season progresses he will be in a better position to judge whether he stays with the team beyond 2009.

Nico said: "I was to stay with Williams, whatever happened this year - that was done. And next year the cars are going to be completely spread out again because everybody starts from zero - so I will tell you halfway through next year if I regret it or not. It would be fantastic if the team could change their course. All these years you just build on the car that you had the year before, copy other people, and try to improve more than others - but now it’s a different game because everybody starts from zero, with a completely new concept. And I hope that the people at Williams can take advantage of this situation. That would be great. I am not asking for a world championship-winning car, just a car that gives me the opportunity to finish in the points consistently - and a couple of podiums would be the icing on the cake. The chances are there, for sure. Should ’09 not turn out as I hope it will, then naturally I have to re-think my position for 2010.

As for whether he feels that the Williams team  is in a position to turn things around in 2009 Nico is confident that their experiences and difficulties that they had in 2008 will help them in 2009.

Nico added: "We think we understand pretty well (what went wrong) and so we learned a lot and for sure it will help us for next year. Once it went wrong this year it was very difficult to catch up, even though we started to understand and really get to the bottom of the problem. It was difficult to turn things around - we tried, but we haven’t been able to pull the big turn around. Once you have taken the wrong path the others are continuing to develop and it was not possible to close the gap, even once we understood the problem. I am sure what we experienced this year will help us for next year."

With Rosberg now focusing on the development of the 2009 car he is hopeful that the team will be able to make up ground on their rivals. With the new FW31 been launched in January 2009 Nico is hopeful that this car will allow him to show that he is a capable to moving to the top in Formula One. As for the development of the new car Nico has being following its development closely.

Nico said: "I always follow the development of a new car very closely - especially with so many new regulations waiting in the wings. I am very anxious to hear how it’s going. Actually I saw the car last January, or even December - around about 10 months ago - and it will be interesting to see the changes when I go back to the factory to follow up. At the moment it is looking good. But what does that mean? Absolutely nothing! Because you have no idea what the others are doing, so it’s not even worth mentioning. In Barcelona we were able to put some mileage on the car.

We had quite a few things on the car for next year, and we’ve tried some general things too, as you can start to learn about the tyres. Although it was this year’s car and this year’s aerodynamics, we’ve been running with such low downforce that it represents what it will be like next year. It’s not exact but you can start to try fundamental things like how the tyres work, learning about them step by step, because new tyres are always very complex to understand.