Rosberg: « I tried to put as much pressure as possible on Lewis. »
The Mercedes driver seemed well placed to win the Hungarian Grand Prix when he started on pole, but lost the benefit of this at the start. He was never outdistanced by Hamilton in the other Mercedes, but was never really able to attack his team-mate on the Hungarian circuit, which is not very conducive to overtaking.
Nico Rosberg got off to a decent start but not as good as his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo on the second row when the lights went out to launch the Hungarian Grand Prix. Temporarily overtaken by the other two drivers, he eventually regained the advantage over the Australian at the second turn. “The race was decided there. My start was okay, but it wasn’t as good as Lewis’s and Daniel’s. Then he got closer, and Lewis had the inside. It was a bit tight between the two, and I had to come back. I was able to regain second place on the inside, but I lost the victory here,” the German driver said.
The driver inherits second place and had to put everything into play to catch up to Hamilton, never being very close but never truly distanced. « I was happy to pass Daniel at the second corner and once in front, I tried to put as much pressure as possible on Lewis. But of course, it’s not possible to overtake on this track. »
At the end of the first stint, Rosberg got closer, but the slower pace of the British driver resulted in the drivers behind him closing in. A small mistake by Hamilton even allowed Nico Rosberg to catch up with the leader, but the Brit then picked up the pace to claim the victory. This race sees Hamilton regain the championship lead: « As I have always said, I don’t count the points. There is still a long, long way to go. Anything is possible. I just want to focus on winning races, that’s what I was aiming to do today. But it didn’t work out, unfortunately. » Rosberg adds.
Now the German Grand Prix is approaching, which naturally motivates the driver from across the Rhine: “Now I focus on Hockenheim, which is my home race. I’m looking forward to racing there, I love the track.”
