F1 wins not automatic after Brawn's Rosberg gets first
GMM
Nico Rosberg has taken no pleasure in proving Niki Lauda wrong.
After the German broke through this year for his first career victory in China, and Mercedes' first since the Brawn takeover, triple world champion Lauda assured Rosberg that his life would now be easier.
"Niki Lauda told me that the next victory is easy after the first one, but unfortunately that's not right," Rosberg, 27, said ahead of his home race at Hockenheim this weekend.
"It's not just automatic," he insisted.
Indeed, since winning from pole in Shanghai, Rosberg has qualified on the front row and finished on the podium only once apiece in the six subsequent races.
"Our performance has been up and down recently, ranging from podiums to lower points finishes," admitted team boss Ross Brawn.
"We need to work hard to improve our level of consistency and ability to challenge at the front of the field."
Indeed, the W03 struggled last time out at Silverstone: Rosberg failing to make the top ten in qualifying and teammate Michael Schumacher sliding from the second row of the grid to just seventh at the finish.
Rosberg said: "I think our car should suit this track (Hockenheim) much better than Silverstone.
"Hockenheim has long straights and short corners, which will be good for the silver arrow," he added.
Share Or Save This Story
Nico Rosberg stunned by Kimi Antonelli's "unbelievable" maturity in 2026 F1 title fight
Nico Rosberg: Carlos Sainz must share blame for Madring overtaking issues
Nico Rosberg rejects Mercedes favouritism claims after F1 Italian GP
How Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes made their own luck in Madrid
Sebastian Vettel: “I’d be very happy” for Kimi Antonelli to beat me as F1’s youngest champion
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
Max Verstappen takes just 14 laps to overtake 100 amateur karters in manic event
Hendrick to bring back iconic neon yellow car numbers for 2027
NASCAR changes wet-weather tire policy for Bristol to give teams more control
Max Verstappen beats the 100 in blistering time as it happened
F1 doesn't need to change its VSC rules despite Lando Norris' Spain loss
Why Lando Norris doesn’t buy George Russell’s driving style theory
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
How Norris unfurled a surprising - and "unrepeatable" - Spanish GP pole lap
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments