Sunday: Rosberg and Mercedes on Top, Hamilton Disappointed
There was both shade and light at Mercedes today. On one hand, Nico Rosberg's brilliant victory as he delivered a flawless race. On the other, Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the pit after only 5 laps due to a mechanical issue. The lack of reliability therefore prevents the team from fully savoring this first podium.
Nico Rosberg (No. 6) – Victory
Following the qualifications, Nico Rosberg could already dream of a podium, but the victory was not yet in the bag. He first had to overtake his teammate Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo. The German did not waste any time as he seized first place on the first lap and then had an incident-free race: « Everything went perfectly for me. My start was great, and I was able to push until the end, with our fuel consumption well under control. I’ve always dreamed of having such a strong Silver Arrow, and now it seems we have achieved it. ».
However, not everything is so rosy at Mercedes, reliability is still an issue: « We know there is still work to be done. We saw this weekend that reliability is still a concern and it prevented us from having both cars finish today. »
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44) – Retirement (cylinder issue)
Unlike his teammate, Lewis Hamilton was off to a good start to win the race, but a cylinder issue got the better of him right from the start. Disappointed, he reflects on the reasons for his retirement: « My start didn’t go well today and I had much less energy than usual when accelerating. Something was wrong, and it seemed like we only had five cylinders working, so we had to play it safe and save the engine ».
Hamilton, who highlights the work done by the team over the winter, does not lose hope regarding the upcoming races: « There is a very long way to go this season, but we have made incredible efforts to get here, to be at the front and so competitive. We will bounce back and learn from this »
