(CNN) -- With four different drivers winning each of the four races so far, 2012 is shaping up as one of the most open seasons in Formula One history.
And with no clear favorite yet to emerge, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg says his team is in a strong position to finally end a long title wait.
The German marque has won only one race since returning to the elite division of motorsport in 2010 after an absence of half a century away, but Rosberg has hopes of emulating the 1954-55 world championship successes of legendary racer Juan Manuel Fangio.
The 26-year-old's win at the China Grand Prix last month was Mercedes' first since Fangio's victory in Italy in 1955, and his first in 111 career starts.
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Michael Schumacher in the modern Silver Arrow while Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg takes the wheel of the 1955 model.
The Silver Arrow rises again
Nico Rosberg celebrates his first victory for Mercedes in the Chinese Grand Prix. He is the third son of an F1 driver to win a race, following in the footsteps of father Keke.
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Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher gets behind the wheel of the new F1 W03 at an official preseason test event in Barcelona.
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"Before China we were really struggling in races and we worked hard and improved the car, modified the set up quite a lot with the car," Rosberg told CNN ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
"We're not the best yet, which is what we want to be soon, but we're getting there and we were the best in China.
"It's a difficult season also, everybody is a little bit up and down this year. In the championship I'm in a really good position. We really need to focus and improve the car step by step and try and get the most out of it and try and get ahead of the others."
The most open F1 season came in 1982 when at least 11 different drivers stood on top of the podium. But even then, Alain Prost of Renault won the first two races.
Rosberg believes Mercedes is in a strong position to overcome the disappointments of the past two seasons.
"The team is just doing a much better job, they're working together better. There's even more competence now in the team. New people have joined and we're getting there and we're really growing quickly," he said.
"It's taken longer for us and been more difficult than expected. But now we're really on a roll and going in the right direction, and for everybody China was a very emotional moment."
Rosberg's veteran teammate Michael Schumacher has blamed F1's sole tire supplier Pirelli for the unpredictable results in 2012, but the younger German is keen to see the positives in an open season and said the difficult conditions at last month's Bahrain Grand Prix were a great learning experience.
The hot Middle Eastern country took its toll on tires, with McLaren's former world champion Jenson Button suffering a puncture and retiring on the penultimate lap. His teammate Lewis Hamilton finished eighth, losing his championship lead to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
Rosberg finished fifth after failing to repeat his China pace, and 43-year-old Schumacher was 10th after fighting his way up from the bottom of the grid.
"Bahrain was probably the toughest conditions tire-wise we've had until now and there we were beating teams like McLaren, who until then had been dominating the season," Rosberg said.
Mercedes, meanwhile, has downplayed reports it could be set to quit F1.
British newspaper The Times claimed the UK-based team could be forced out over a power dispute arising from F1's proposed stock exchange flotation.
It said Mercedes would miss out on a boardroom place despite its large investment as an engine manufacturer in the past two decades, while rival teams Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren would all be given representation by F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone.
However a Mercedes spokesman told CNN: "We are in discussions with the commercial rights holder and we would like to ask for your understanding that we are not currently commenting on these discussions."
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China Grand Prix champion Nico Rosberg is the first Mercedes driver to win a Formula One race since Juan Manuel Fangio in Italy in 1955.
The two Germans will return home this weekend and help launch the new season of the DTM touring car series at Hockenheim.
Fangio, pictured in second place, races the original Silver Arrow at the Buenos Aires track in 1955. The Argentine didn't disappoint his home crowd, later taking the title.
Fangio is mobbed by fans after winning the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. The racing legend had 24 wins and five world championships in a career spanning almost 20 years.
Fangio and Schumacher are the only drivers to have won three successive world championships, a feat Sebastain Vettel is hoping to match this year.
Nico, who was born in Germany, gets some one-on-one advice from Finnish father Keke. Now 63, he won the world title in 1982 with Williams.
Keke Rosberg won five races in total in a career that lasted nine seasons. He is pictured here during the 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he retired from the race.
Damon Hill is one of Britain's most succesful drivers, winning 22 races in an eight-season career spanning from 1992 to 1999. Here he holds the trophy high after winning the Belgian Grand Prix in 1993.
He made history in 1996, when he won the world drivers' title to add to the championships Graham earned in 1962 and 1968 -- making them the only father and son to achieve the feat. Here Damon poses with a bronze bust of his late dad unveiled at Silverstone in 2008.
Graham Hill earned the nickname "Mr Monaco" after winning on the Principality's street circuit five times. His first of 14 wins came at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
The Hill family arrive at Graham's funeral at the Abbey of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, with Damon pictured left. The racing legend died on November 29, 1975, when the plane he was flying crashed in North London.
Gilles Villeneuve, seen here with a young Jacques in 1974, died in 1982 during qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was championship runner-up in 1979, having won his first race the year before at the Montreal circuit now named after him.
The 43-year-old said he is still hungry to achieve success despite entering his 19th season in Formula One. Schumacher is yet to register a podium finish since returning to the sport in 2010.
Nico Rosberg finished the 2011 Formula One season one place and 13 points ahead of compatriot and Mercedes teammate Schumacher.
Team principal Ross Brawn worked with Schumacher at Italian marque Ferrari, where they won multiple world championships together.
Schumacher became drivers' champion for the first time at Benetton in 1994, before retaining his crown with the team in 1995.
The German is best remembered for his time at Ferrari, where he won five consecutive championships between 2000 and 2004 before retiring for the first time in 2006.
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