Nico Rosberg on Wednesday vowed not to get ahead of himself, despite admitting he likes the taste of F1 dominance.
Quadruple consecutive world champion Sebastian Vettel’s eight-month string of race wins finally came to an end in Melbourne, where a new dawn for the sport saw Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg win by half a minute.
Currently holidaying in Bali with his fiancee Vivian, F1’s new winning German said he is expecting to hang on to that sunny feeling in 2014.
"To know that I can keep going for poles and race wins is cool," he told Sport Bild.
"I now know pretty well how Sebastian must have felt last year when he was winning by 30 seconds," said Rosberg.
However, although currently a big step ahead of his likely title rivals like teammate Lewis Hamilton and Vettel, Rosberg insisted he is counting no chickens.
"You can never rule out Red Bull," said the 28-year-old. "I would almost have bet my house after the tests that they would still be in trouble (in Melbourne) but they were stronger than we expected.
"It shows that we cannot sleep," Rosberg warned.
Another problem on the horizon is a likely tense in-house battle with his own Mercedes teammate, Briton Hamilton.
Their relationship, both personal and competitive, goes back to their boyhoods, with Rosberg admitting: "We are not best friends, but we are fine.
"But I’m also aware that the more success we have, the more complicated our relationship will be."