Rosberg bets on start at Red Bull Ring

Nico Rosberg is aiming for a sixth victory this season at the Austrian Grand Prix contested this July 3 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The pilot Mercedes remains on two consecutive victories on this track and regained morale by increasing its lead in the Championship in the streets of Baku on June 19.

“We have had great successes in Austria in recent years, admits the German. It will still be difficult against Williams because they have followed us closely at this circuit in the past, but Les Flèches d’Argent still have the best package on the grid and I can’t wait to see what we do at Spielberg. It would be fantastic to achieve a third victory in three editions. The first corner comes quickly and my starts have been pretty good this season. So I will have a good chance of getting a good result if I pass my qualifications. »

Nico Rosberg will once again monitor his teammate Lewis Hamilton who is 24 points behind following his missed race at the European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.

“The Spielberg circuit is fast and overtaking is difficult although there are a few places where you can try something, warns the three-time world champion. It’s a real advantage to be at the forefront here. So I will have to do better in qualifying to get a better result than last time. The goal is victory. »

“Spielberg is a different circuit from the previous three which had quite a few slow corners,” notes Paddy Lowe, the technical director. The track is short with only nine corners tackled at different speeds. The weekend is complicated on the pit wall, particularly during qualifying. With laps completed in just over a minute, the circuit can become very congested and decisions have to be made very quickly. The track has been completely resurfaced this year and we will have to study the behavior of the tires. We could approach the lap record with the soft tires at our disposal. »