?Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg (right) of Germany leads Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa of Brazil and Fernando Alonso of Spain during the Chinese Grand Prix in suburban Jiading District of Shanghai yesterday.

Mercedes showed it may still be a force this Formula One season by taking a huge step forward at the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday.

Nico Rosberg finished fifth after leading the race for several laps, while German compatriot and teammate Michael Schumacher improved from 14th on the grid to finish eighth. It was the best result for both drivers this year after disappointing races in Australia and Malaysia.

Rosberg felt his car was so competitive that he even said after the race he was "extremely disappointed" not to finish closer to the top.

"It was horrible, really horrible," he said. "Leading the race for such a long time was a great feeling but we had issues with the fuel consumption which made it really difficult to fight for position."

However, he said he was pleased that the tweaks the team made to the Mercedes after slow practice runs on Friday seemed to pay off in the race. "We've made a nice big step with the car, we were leading the race for such a long time. We'll surely get the result the car deserves next time."

Belated delivery

Mercedes' performance in Shanghai was a belated delivery on its strong preseason testing pace, and the team now has another two weeks to work on the car before the next grand prix in Turkey.

"We are heading towards the first race in Europe now and will bring some upgrades to Istanbul which should help us to improve even more," said Schumacher, the seven-time world champion. "It is good to leave Asia with a positive feeling."

Ferrari, meanwhile, remained mired in a slump.

Although Felipe Massa led for two laps before his second pit stop, his tires wore out as he attempted a two-stop strategy and eventually fell back to sixth place.

"They chose the right strategy, not just Lewis (Hamilton), but Lewis and four cars together, and all these cars passed me very easy," Massa said. "Even the guy who dominated the race, Sebastian, he didn't win because of his strategy, which was the same as mine."

Fernando Alonso looked competitive in the early stages, sitting third, but struggled on the hard tires in the second half.

Ferrari had been expected to challenge Red Bull and McLaren for the championship this season but has not recorded a podium finish in the first three races and heads to the European portion of the season already 55 points off the lead in the constructors' race.