Nico Rosberg is looking to a return to winning ways this weekend at the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix after finding himself finishing second during the rain-affected British Grand Prix three weeks ago to Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The German driver’s initial thoughts ahead of Hungary are with the friends and family of Jules Bianchi, with Rosberg insisting he will be racing hard in his honour, just as the Frenchman would have wanted.
“It has been a very emotional week,” said Rosberg. “The drivers paid our final respects to Jules and said farewell. He was a very talented driver and a good guy. My thoughts in these days are with his family and close friends.
“Everyone will be sharing the same feelings in the paddock this week – but we must race on and race hard for Jules as he would have wanted to be doing himself.”
Looking ahead to the race itself, Rosberg hopes to give his team a positive result this weekend ahead of the mid-season summer break, something he could not achieve in 2014 when he could only finish fourth after being caught out early by a safety car period that compromised his afternoon.
“It’s the final race before the team gets a well-earned break and I’ll be pushing as always to give everyone something positive to take into their holidays,” insists Rosberg.
“It’s a tough track on the driver – narrow, very twisty and usually very hot. It’s one of those circuits where you can really show your skill and that makes it a good challenge.
“The race here last year wasn’t ideal for me in the end – but it’s a proper circuit, in a beautiful city, with big crowds always filling the grandstands, so I’m looking forward to it and hoping bring home a stronger result this time around.”
