‘Frustrated’ Rosberg puts Mercedes team first
25 March 2013 1:11 AM GMT
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg admitted his frustration Sunday after team orders denied him a spot on the Malaysian Grand Prix podium -- but he called the race a ‘milestone’ for the fast-improving team.
Team principal Ross Brawn put the brakes on the young German as he buzzed around the back of Hamilton’s car in the closing stages, allowing the Briton to finish third in his first podium finish for his new team.
‘(I was) a little bit frustrated of course in the end because as a race driver I want to go as fast as possible,’ Rosberg said, adding that Mercedes’ three-four finish, behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, was a big step forward.
‘It’s hopefully a milestone today on the way forward. To be fighting with the Red Bulls right in front, that’s awesome. That’s just an amazing feeling,’ Rosberg said.
‘And I look forward to a lot more to come, and that’s why I fully understand that we had to take away all the risks today to bring that result home,’ he added.
‘If it would have been the other way around, they would have done the same thing.’
FORCE INDIA HAS DISMAL DAY
It was a forgettable Malaysian Grand Prix race for Sahara Force India as Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta failed to complete the race due to wheel nut problems, on Sunday. The poor qualifying spilled to the race day as Sutil was in the race for 27 laps while di Resta retired after 22 laps as both the drivers were troubled by wheel nut issues. To save the cars from serious damage, the team chose to retire both the machines. Sutil chose to be optimist, saying it’s early time in the season and they have plenty of time to recover from the disappointing result on Sunday. ‘We’re not sure exactly what happened yet so the team stopped the cars to make sure we understand the issue. It’s a shame that this happened here because we had a very quick car today and I felt very comfortable as the track dried out. Di Resta said the pace of the car was good but it made sense to retire the car to avoid damage. ‘We saw an issue at Adrian’s first pit stop when I was sat behind him, which cost me about 15 seconds, and then I had the same issue with the wheel nut at my second.’
Team principal Ross Brawn put the brakes on the young German as he buzzed around the back of Hamilton’s car in the closing stages, allowing the Briton to finish third in his first podium finish for his new team.
‘(I was) a little bit frustrated of course in the end because as a race driver I want to go as fast as possible,’ Rosberg said, adding that Mercedes’ three-four finish, behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, was a big step forward.
‘It’s hopefully a milestone today on the way forward. To be fighting with the Red Bulls right in front, that’s awesome. That’s just an amazing feeling,’ Rosberg said.
‘And I look forward to a lot more to come, and that’s why I fully understand that we had to take away all the risks today to bring that result home,’ he added.
‘If it would have been the other way around, they would have done the same thing.’
FORCE INDIA HAS DISMAL DAY
It was a forgettable Malaysian Grand Prix race for Sahara Force India as Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta failed to complete the race due to wheel nut problems, on Sunday. The poor qualifying spilled to the race day as Sutil was in the race for 27 laps while di Resta retired after 22 laps as both the drivers were troubled by wheel nut issues. To save the cars from serious damage, the team chose to retire both the machines. Sutil chose to be optimist, saying it’s early time in the season and they have plenty of time to recover from the disappointing result on Sunday. ‘We’re not sure exactly what happened yet so the team stopped the cars to make sure we understand the issue. It’s a shame that this happened here because we had a very quick car today and I felt very comfortable as the track dried out. Di Resta said the pace of the car was good but it made sense to retire the car to avoid damage. ‘We saw an issue at Adrian’s first pit stop when I was sat behind him, which cost me about 15 seconds, and then I had the same issue with the wheel nut at my second.’
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