Nico Rosberg was left to reflect on an early retirement at the Sochi Autodrom and saw his World Championship hopes all but disappear.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver has dropped 73 points behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton following his retirement and the Briton’s victory, after suffering a throttle problem that saw him drop out of the Grand Prix in Russia.
The pole-sitter had initially held the lead at the start, holding off the challenge of his team-mate, but the issue with his throttle started not longer after, and was forced to settle for watching the race from the sidelines as the team secured the Constructor’s championship with four races of the season remaining.
“Racing can be very tough,” said Rosberg. “You put so much effort into a weekend but in the end I leave Russia with no points. A very disappointing weekend for me.
“It all went well until the Safety Car came out. My throttle pedal came into my direction. At one point I wasn’t able to steer anymore as I had to lift my foot too much and touched the steering wheel with my knee. In the recent months I had some unlucky moments, which made it hard in the battle against Lewis. But I will come back and keep pushing.
“We can be very happy that we secured the Constructors’ title a second time in a row. So it’s a good day for everyone in the factories and we have to thank all that made this happen.”
