Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Wolff: Rosberg win shows drivers on a 'level playing field'

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Toto Wolff says Nico Rosberg's victory in the Spanish Grand Prix shows how closely matched he is to Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton started his title defence in dominant fashion, taking 93 points from a maximum of 100 and securing pole position at all four of the opening races. With Rosberg stopping that run by winning from pole in Barcelona, Wolff says it shows the two drivers will have another battle for the title this season.

Asked what the difference was between Rosberg and Hamilton on Sunday, Wolff replied: "Difficult to say.

They are on such a level playing field. It is about feeling comfortable in the car, comfortable on the track… Lewis mentioned before the weekend that this wasn’t his favourite track. I don’t know if that is the reason.

"It was difficult to get it right set-up wise, with the gusty winds and the lack of grip, from session to session. Then going into the race, the minute you can control the pace from the front, it gives you a big advantage and that is what Nico did today in a very controlled way."

However, Wolff is keen not to overstate the importance of the result to Rosberg despite it being the first time he has beaten Hamilton this year.

"They are mentally very strong, both of them and as much as we would like to find a dynamic that is pro or against the driver, they come out very strong. Even after a bad weekend or a defeat they come out very strong.

"We have seen it last year, we have spent time talking, is Nico now on a run? Has the balance swung towards him? We will probably see the same again this season. Two drivers which are matching each other and trying to out-perform each other. As a team it is a good situation because it lifts the performance of the whole team, which is the best case."

Click here for Sunday's gallery from the Spanish Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.