Nico Rosberg said he was excited to welcome Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel to Mercedes' engineering meeting at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday.

Vettel jokingly suggested the idea after the Formula One season opener in Australia, where the German finished third behind dominant Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg.

Rosberg extended an official invitation on Twitter just days later, and has reiterated his position ahead of F1 heading to Kuala Lumpur.

"I'm also particularly looking forward to welcoming our special guest Mr Vettel to the Friday engineering meeting," he said.

"I'm sure we will all learn a few interesting things for the weekend."

Ferrari appear Mercedes' closest challengers in 2015, although Hamilton and Rosberg were well ahead in Melbourne.

Rosberg, who finished second to Hamilton in the drivers' championship last year, is ready for another battle with his British team-mate.

"It's all set up to be another great battle between us this year and I'm ready for the fight," he said.

"Hopefully we will also have some other competitors pushing us as hard as we push each other, as this would be great for the sport."