Strategy was crucial for Rosberg

Surprised just like Lewis Hamilton by the best flight of Ferrari de Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Rosberg however managed to contain his teammate at Mercedes to place himself in the wake of the two SF16-Hs at the start of the race. The German subsequently took advantage of an excellent choice from the star team to get the better of Vettel when the race was interrupted after the accident involving Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutiérrez.

“Strategy was really crucial today, indicates the first leader of the championship. The team did an excellent job on this side. We are very strong in this area among others. I don't want to differentiate, because we are strong in almost all areas, but it worked today.

I was happy to see that they (Ferrari) were on Supersofts. I didn't know if that was going to be the case. I was happy to have been able to stay in rhythm with the mediums. I was a little worried about the restart with this compound, with the tire perhaps too cold, but it was good. »

Rosberg also admitted that the Ferrari threat was more present than ever after this first event. “We have to keep an eye on the red guys, because they are very close, as you saw today, so we have to give everything to stay in the lead, of course. »

Discover the analysis of the Australian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2055 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.