Nico Rosberg has been quick to look on the bright side after losing out to Daniel Ricciardo in the race to win the Canadian Grand Prix today.
Rosberg led most of the grand prix in Montreal, and was initially battling with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton at the front of the field. However, both cars were struck by an internal problem which left them down on power. The issue was so bad for Hamilton that he had to retire, but Rosberg kept going and managed to stay in the lead until the third to last lap when Ricciardo fought his way past to claim his first grand prix victory.
“That was a big battle all the way through today,” Rosberg explained. “I had a tough start but I was able to defend in the first few corners and fight against Lewis. The race went smoothly for a while then both cars suddenly lost the MGU-K system and a lot of power which was really tough. Then I lost some time in the second pit stop which let Lewis jump me and I was struggling to cool the rear brakes down so it was all happening.
“Towards the end of the race, I tried to defend against Sergio [Perez] which was fine but Daniel was too fast on the straights with much more power than I had available and he was able to get past.”
However, he is pleased to have limited the damage and come away from Canada with 18 points, giving him a 22 point lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Hamilton.
“With so much going on, I had to ask my engineer where I finished at the end as I thought I was probably about fifth or sixth,” Rosberg explained. “I was so happy to hear that I was in P2!
“They are important points for me in the championship, so it was a tough but ultimately good day.”
Mercedes remains the team to beat in Formula 1 despite today’s result, and Rosberg will be looking to extend his championship lead at the next race in Austria (22 June). Today though, the glory lies with Ricciardo following his first race win.
