Rosberg surprised by perfect start

Championship leader Nico Rosberg says he did not expect to kick start his 2016 Formula One campaign in such dominant fashion, with the Mercedes driver winning all three opening races.

While rivals’ issues have somewhat aided Rosberg’s progress, there is no denying his momentum entering this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix. Stretching back to last year, the German has claimed victory in the last six F1 events.

Despite his 36-point lead over world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings, Rosberg refuses to get carried away by his early perfect score.

“It's great to see that we still have the quickest car out there and, of course, it's always the plan to win every race,” the 30-year-old said. “But I would never have expected the first three weekends to go the way they have. I've made the most of my opportunities and I have a bit of an advantage in the points right now - but we are only three races down and it would just take one bad weekend for that gap to disappear.

“Lewis is still the benchmark for me as he is the current Champion, Ferrari haven't shown what they can do yet and Red Bull also look like they're getting stronger, so it's going to be a good battle and I'm looking forward to that. I wouldn't have it any other way. For now, I'm just taking things race by race, focusing on doing my own thing and getting the job done to the best of my ability. That approach has worked out well for me so far.”

Rosberg already was in strong form during F1’s most recent visit to Russia last October. Lining up on pole position, the 17-time grand prix winner held off Hamilton at the start and was leading the race when he was forced into retirement due to his throttle getting stuck.

“I can't wait to get to Sochi,” Rosberg added. “I was looking good all weekend last year until a technical problem put me out of the race and I had great fun fighting from the back the year before, so I know I'm competitive at this track. It holds great memories of celebrating the two Championship wins with the team too, so I'm excited to be heading back and seeing how we perform.”

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