Having come into F1 as GP2 Series champion, not to mention the fact that he has F1 World Championship winner in his DNA, courtesy of his father, much was expected of Nico Rosberg.

However, after three season in F1, and with a career best result of finishing second in Singapore this year, the German is concerned that his stock may be falling as he faces another season unlikely to see him battling with the big guns, drivers he has raced, and beaten, on his way up the motor racing ladder.

"A certain danger exists, because the quality of the driver, in the eyes of others, is closely connected with the achievement of the car," he told Frankfurter Allgemeinen at the weekend.

"Jenson Button is a good example," he continued. "For me, he is still a really, really good driver. But his market value has gone down hugely since 2004," when he was third in the championship behind the Ferraris.

"At the beginning of the year it looked very good," said the German. "I was third in Australia and expectations for a good season were high. We were better than Renault. But we have probably just done a bad job. Particularly with the development of the aerodynamics we have not kept up.

"For some years now Williams has had problems with the development of the car during the season. But it is excusable because we have learned so much."

While one can sympathise with Nico, one has to wonder how his words will go down with his employers, especially in light of its problems off-track in terms of its sponsorship issues with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Iceland's Baugur.