In a mixed day at Silverstone for Mercedes Nico Rosberg scored his third podium of the season, but a mistake by Michael Schumacher meant that the seven-time world champion could only finish ninth.
Rosberg started from fifth on the grid and a mixture of good pit strategy from Mercedes and misfortune for Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica meant that the German could secure third place.
“I had a good start today and was happy to be up to fourth place by the end of the first lap,” said Rosberg, explaining how his race panned out. “Robert was holding me up and with Fernando pushing hard behind, it wasn’t easy to maintain the place.
“Our strategy was really strong today so thanks to the guys on the pit wall for their efforts and keeping me out on the options. I had a great lap and with the quick pit stop, it was enough to get me out ahead of Robert, and that made the podium possible.
“It’s been a good effort from the team to turn our situation around after Valencia. We have made a step forward and analysed where we went wrong and to come away with a podium today is fantastic.
“It’s a real turnaround and I am confident that there is more to come from us.”
Michael Schumacher was running well after starting from tenth on the grid, making it up to seventh in the opening laps. However, the German said that a costly mistake at a crucial moment had ruined his afternoon. He now looks forward to his home race in a fortnight.
“Again a race which I am not really happy about today,” said Schumacher. “It was ok and seeing Nico on the podium is good for the team but my race was obviously less rewarding.
“I was in traffic for most of the race and did not really have a clear track. After the pit stop where I had to push really hard to make it in front of Rubens, I unfortunately made a mistake out of a slow corner which put me off the track. That cost me a lot of time plus two positions and that was it for today.
“We now look towards Hockenheim where we obviously will do everything to perform in the best possible way.”
Ross Brawn was full of praise for Rosberg and the team, but agreed with Schumacher that the seven-time world champion’s mistake had deprived them of a higher finish.
“That was a very good performance from Nico and the team today,” said Brawn. “Nico had a great race and we got the maximum out of the car with a strong start, good strategy and impressive driving. Nico pushed as hard as he needed to and produced some great laps at the crucial time so his race went perfectly.
“Michael also had a good start and his position was looking interesting. We made an early pit stop to put him in fresh air, as he told us the guys around him were holding him up, but unfortunately he made a mistake and lost the advantage that we were gaining from the early stop. When the others made their stops, they were out in front of him, and with some damage to the car, that was really his race.
“Overall we’ve done a respectable job this weekend and now we just have to find some more pace. We’re all looking forward to going back to the factory this evening with the trophy to see our team and their families.”
