Nico Rosberg put in a commanding performance to win the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, his third victory in a row this season, and his sixth win in succession. The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver was overwhelmed to be able to take the win in such dominating fashion.
“Racing wise, it was an almost perfect weekend.” said Rosberg. “Only the start could have been better – but luckily I was able to pass Daniel later on the straight and from then on I could build up a gap.
“I must say, I’ve never had a better balance in my car than I had today. It was really perfect, so a big thanks to everyone who helped me achieve that. I also want to thank all the women in my life – my wife, my daughter and my mother. Their support is unbelievable and that’s really what makes it possible for me to be doing what I’m doing.
“I’m a very happy man today and, after three races I can be really pleased about how my season has gone so far. But it’s a very long year ahead and there’s a lot of points still on the table, so I’m not losing my focus. Now I look forward to Russia, where I started my good run of qualifying results last year. Hopefully I can get on a nice run like that again.”
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton meanwhile, had one of the toughest weekend’s of his career. After starting from the back of the grid due to technical issues in qualifying, as well as a five place grid penalty for changing his gearbox, a first lap coming together with the Sauber of Felipe Nasr was not what the Brit needed. The current World champion was pleased however, that he still managed to get some points on the board.
“That was definitely a difficult weekend.” said Hamilton. “I got a good start – but it’s always tricky being at the back and trying not to get caught up in the domino effect of any contact at the first corner. I tried to avoid whatever happened in front of me but I just got tangled up in it. It was just a bit unfortunate, really.
“From there it was always going to be a battle – but I had a lot of fun fighting back through! There were plenty of overtakes, from what I can remember! I gave it everything I had and P7 was about the limit. There was nothing left in the tyres at the end and, although it’s pretty good for overtaking here, I had quite a lot of damage to the car which made it difficult to get close on the brakes.
“From what I could feel there was definitely some aero loss and possible suspension damage too, as the car seemed to be flexing all over the place. But that’s racing – it happens sometimes and at least I still managed to get a few points on the board. It’s a pretty big hit points-wise today – but I’ll just have to do what I can to make it up over the next few races. Onwards and upwards…”
