Nico Rosberg: 2015 struggles made Singapore win sweeter
ByAutoSport
Updated 20/09/2016 at 18:45 GMT
Nico Rosberg says beating Red Bull and Ferrari after being "destroyed" by the Formula 1 rivals in 2015 added to his satisfaction of winning the Singapore Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg
Image credit: Imago
Mercedes headed to Singapore uncertain whether it had solved the issues that hurt its performance last year, when Ferrari and Red Bull fought for victory.
Aside from hitting a barrier in first practice, Rosberg enjoyed such a perfect weekend that Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff claimed he had never seen the German drive as well.
Having now won three successive races to reclaim the championship lead from team-mate Lewis Hamilton by eight points, Rosberg said he was "enjoying the moment.
"With this team it's awesome to be able to have a shot at winning every race wherever we go.
"Especially this weekend, which has been very impressive because we got destroyed here last year by Red Bull and Ferrari.
"We understood why, and it really wasn't easy to understand, but we turned it around and it made a difference this year.
"We beat them on their best track. It was really fulfilling in a way for everybody."
The victory was not without its issues, however, as both Rosberg and Hamilton had to manage what Wolff called "marginal" brakes.
Rosberg eventually held off a charging Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull by 0.488 seconds.
"It was only difficult when the pressure was on at the end of the race," said Rosberg.
"In the beginning everything was under control, so it was OK, I just had to manage a bit.
"When you have to manage the brakes in such a way, and it costs you performance, it becomes difficult.
"But this was the track where the car was going to be on the limit, we knew that was coming, and we got it right.
"With the battle at the end, it was all the more fulfilling to win it in such a way because I really had to nail those laps and get the best out of it because [Ricciardo] was on course to get me two laps from the end.
"So I had to roll out the best laps I could do."
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