Rosberg: “Lewis got off to a better start”

Nico Rosberg feels his title chances are diminishing as the season goes on. The Japanese GP was no exception to the rule despite the pole signed by the German. After having made a worse start than his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the German driver had to let go of the controls of the race as soon as he exited the second turn, even slipping to fourth position after passing through the grass before move up to second place.

« Lewis simply had a better start. We had a good fight, but he was better placed at the exit of the second corner and he kept his line… It was tight, I had to avoid a collision. It's hard to comment on this now because I haven't seen the images yet. explained Nico Rosberg.

The German finds himself in a delicate position since he is 48 points behind with five races remaining in the season. “This is not going in the right direction. It was important for me to win today, but it didn't work. I have to try it next time”, added the pilot Mercedes who will have to wait for the Russian GP played on October 11 in Sochi.

Discover the analysis of the Japanese GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2031 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.