No doubt breathing a huge sigh of relief that WilliamsF1 has opted to sign Nico Rosberg, and not former Jaguar teammate, Antonio Pizzonia, for 2006, Mark Webber has given his own seal of approval to the German youngster.

"He knows what he's got to do and he will deliver. I'm very, very sure of that," the Australian told Reuters. "He's ready to go, he's done well to get the race seat and I think it's something he deserves and it's good for the team.

"In all the testing he's done he doesn't make any mistakes and he's been very solid," added Webber. "No-one can look in the crystal ball and see the end result, who knows? Jenson was very young and did a fantastic job as was Kimi. Those guys were right there right away with very limited experience. Nico is of a similar level I suppose, so he'll be strong."

There are those that believe that once he establishes himself, Nico could be very strong, and could give Webber a wake up call, in much the same way that Nick Heidfeld did during much of 2005.

"It's always hard to say how the season will unfold," said Webber, "but I think he's been chosen totally on his merits and his ability to be quick and competitive.

"If he's not ready for Formula One, who is out there that is?" he added. "He's done everything he can, he's ticked all the boxes and dominated the championship this year and done a super job for us testing the car. He's totally ready to go.

"There's not a person on the planet who know what's going to happen next year in terms of the competitiveness of all the teams and the cars, but so far he's done what he can."