Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsMercedes

Rosberg: Brakes on the edge after fire

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Nico Rosberg says the brakes "are really on edge" after suffering a fire during practice for the Mexican Grand Prix.

During FP1, Rosberg ran wide at Turn 12 trying to overtake Sebastian Vettel and rejoined the circuit with his rear brakes on fire. After a spell in the pits, Rosberg was able to rejoin late in the session and went on to set the fastest time of FP2 in the afternoon.

Rosberg says teams are always trying to push the limits with their brake cooling but admits Mexico is proving a bigger test due to the altitude.

"It is a challenge, we are really on the edge here on the brakes," Rosberg said. "If you cool the brakes more you lose performance because you need to open up the car and you lose downforce, so you go slower.

"You always want to be on the edge and here specifically is quite difficult because we are quite high up – it is like a ski station in Europe! The air is very thin so it doesn’t flow very well through the car and down the straights there is no resistance. We had the Monaco rear wing on the car with full downforce but we are doing Monza speeds, so it is quite impressive."

While encountering issues during the day, Rosberg had time to form a positive opinion of the Mexico City circuit's layout.

"It is unique, very slippery because the asphalt is new. It is smooth and doesn’t have a lot of grip so we are sliding about a bit. It reminds me of my youth because the corners are tight, so it is a bit like a go-kart track, but it’s great to drive. Going through those two stadiums, one is a fake one, but one is a real baseball stadium… I think it is an awesome atmosphere."

AS IT HAPPENED: Mexican Grand Prix FP2

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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.