• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - FP2

'We are still lacking some pace' - Rosberg

Nico Rosberg is aiming for his first points in four races in Abu Dhabi © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Nico Rosberg

• Teams:
• Mercedes

Nico Rosberg is concerned that Mercedes looks set for another difficult weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but he is still targeting the team's first points since the Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes has struggled for pace at the last three races as its focus has shifted to an overhaul of its car for the 2013 season. Rosberg finished Friday practice in Abu Dhabi 1.449s off the pace in 12th and admitted the car was still not as competitive as the team would like.

"Unfortunately we are still lacking some pace but I hope that we can achieve some points with a good strategy tomorrow and on Sunday," he said. "Generally tyre degradation is not as big as last year, so it will be interesting to see how the race turns out."

Michael Schumacher, who was 14th fastest, agreed that a return to the points was the most the team could hope for on Sunday.

"Today we saw what I would call a 'normal' Friday - doing certain programmes, changing the set-up and typical data collection work. What we saw at the end of the day is probably where we are, so a pretty realistic picture. At the moment we are driving to finish in the points, and that is what we will target for the weekend.

However, team principal Ross Brawn said Mercedes had done some important work for next year.

"We completed a very useful programme today, and worked through a number of evaluations, particularly looking ahead to next year. The balance of the car looks reasonable after the first two sessions, although there are some areas still in need of improvement. The midfield is very tight again, so we will work on our performance on new tyres to ensure that we can qualify as strongly as possible tomorrow."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.