Nico Rosberg says he will not give up on the drivers' championship until it is mathematically impossible despite retiring from the Russian Grand Prix.
Having started from pole position, Rosberg complained of a problem with his throttle pedal in the opening laps after a safety car restart and retired having twice gone wide at the end of heavy braking zones. With Lewis Hamilton going on to win the race and Sebastian Vettel moving in to second place in the standings, Rosberg is now 73 points behind his team-mate with 100 still available.
Asked if the championship battle is over, Rosberg replied: "I don’t know, I don’t think about that.
"It is never over until the mathematics say it is over. Other than that I will always keep pushing, and I will always come back."
With Rosberg's race being ended by a stuck throttle, he admitted it was a safety concern for him but was convinced by the team he would always have braking abilities.
"For sure that is not a nice feeling, and in fact I was asking the team what I should do if it does happen. If I realised in braking that the throttle was sticking open. They told me that the cars have safety device in there, which will automatically noticed that and switch off. So that was a bit reassuring."
Hamilton close to title after Russian GP win
AS IT HAPPENED: Russian Grand Prix
Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
