Nico Rosberg plans to “dig in” with all at Mercedes in a bid to ensure this year’s Formula One world title is not decided by gremlins and good luck.
After leading the championship standings for all but the Monaco Grand Prix in May since winning the opener in Australia, Rosberg finds himself in the unusual position of being the hunter rather than the hunted.
Retirement from Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix due to a wiring loom failure in the steering column, combined with Lewis Hamilton’s win, means Rosberg trails his team-mate by three points going into the final five races.
With four technical retirements to their name, Mercedes have incurred three more than Ferrari and Williams, two more than McLaren, and as many as Red Bull.
Throw in a number of other iss-ues such as those suffered by Rosberg in Canada, and for Hamilton during qualifying in Germany and Hungary, and you can appreciate the deep concern going forward.
It is why Rosberg is eager to play his part and help the team leave no stone unturned to ensure he and Hamilton stay trouble-free.
“There is no reason why we keep having these faults,” said Rosberg.
“It’s clear that’s the point we need to focus on the most because the performance is there, as we saw again in the race with Lewis’ car which was strong, so it’s the reliability that needs to be improved.
“I now want to dig in with the team to try to understand what went wrong.
“It’s not that I’ll be demanding anything different from what I’ve asked and hoped for in the past because they are already focusing a lot on reliability.
“They are working crazy hours, working hard, but maybe there is a need to review their approach and try to improve in that area.
Following his retirement in Singapore, Rosberg remained at the track, taking full advantage of his time out of the car as the race unfolded.
“I decided, rather than leaving, to see if I could pick up anything that might come in useful for the next couple of races,” explained Rosberg.
