Rosberg won't change approach despite shrinking gap

Nico Rosberg sees no reason to change his approach to racing, despite having seen his lead at the head of the Formula 1 world championship cut to just nine points.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 on the grid

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W07 Hybrid and team mate Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W07 Hybrid at the start of the race

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W07 Hybrid

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 in the FIA Press Conference

Tyre struggles in the Monaco Grand Prix and a clash with Lewis Hamilton at the first corner in Canada, which pushed him down the order, have allowed his teammate to get firmly back into title contention.

But despite the pain of seeing a 43-point lead over Hamilton after the Spanish Grand Prix cut down dramatically in two races, Rosberg thinks it important he keeps attacking.

“Canada unfortunately didn't work out as planned,” he said on Tuesday. “But that's how things go when you're pushing the limits and I'm not going to change my approach or start backing down.

“I'm in this championship battle to win it - not to settle for second-best. Now we head to Baku, which is going to be a massive challenge.

“It's a completely new track and a street circuit too, which makes it even more difficult. I've done some work in the simulator, of course, to get a feel for what to expect and to learn the layout.

“Ferrari and Red Bull are very close to our pace now, so any tiny difference we can find this weekend could make the difference. I'm excited to get out there, get to know the track and a new city and hopefully get myself back to the top after a tough few races.”

Start focus

Although Mercedes has won all but one race so far this year, team boss Toto Wolff is mindful that his outfit is not as dominant as it has been in the past.

He is also especially eager for the team to get on top of the start troubles that have hurt it several races this year.

“The speed of both the Ferrari and Red Bull is pretty much where we are now, as demonstrated by the battle between Nico and Max late in the race,” he said.

“We are seeing the convergence of performance between teams that naturally comes with stable regulations - and that has made the competition tougher than ever.

“Our performance in the garage, on the pit wall and during the stops was flawless last weekend - but there are still areas we must improve. Starts are the prime example.

“We've had a couple of great starts this season but also a few that were not so good, which is something we need to analyse and understand.”