Nico Rosberg set the pace in second practice, but feels using an old engine this weekend in Abu Dhabi will hurt him, especially down the long straights at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver swapped places with Lewis Hamilton in second practice having finished second to his team-mate in opening practice, with the two drivers very evenly paced, but the German feels he may suffer a pace deficit due to him being forced to use an older engine compared to his team-mate, having lost the use of one of his engines when it expired during the Italian Grand Prix.
“It’s been a good start here in Abu Dhabi – but it will be a tough weekend for me as I have quite a high mileage engine in my car,” revealed Rosberg.
“After the Monza problem, we have had to stretch the engine life more than we had planned over the 19 races, so I definitely have a small lack of power on the straights and therefore need to make up extra time in the corners.
“It will be a big battle with Lewis here. He didn’t really bring together his quick laps, so it will be even closer tomorrow I’m sure. I’m looking forward to it and I definitely want to win this race and give the boys in the garage a reason to celebrate at the end of the season.”
