Rosberg's win made easier by Hamilton's absence

Nico Rosberg admitted that his win at the Belgian Grand Prix was made much easier by the fact that his team mate Lewis Hamilton had been no where in sight during the race.

Hamilton had to start from the back row of the grid after incurring a number of engine change penalties, while Rosberg was able to get underway from pole position and easily made it through La Source before the incident involving Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

After that the major threat came from Daniel Ricciardo, but it was clear that Rosberg was able to manage the situation without too much problem throughout the afternoon.

"In the race, at the start there's always pressure and after that Daniel was quite quick at the beginning of the second stint," said Rosberg.

"But in general yes I had good control because I had an awesome car out there," he explained. "At the start of the weekend the car was all over the place so we changed a lot and in the end we got there. The strategy worked out perfectly.

"And Lewis wasn't there of course," he conceded. "It wasn't the toughest race ever because Lewis wasn't there ... Lewis starting at the back made it a little easier this weekend. I’m sure he’s going to be back in Monza and it’s going to be a big battle as always."

While Rosberg maximised his performance with pole and the race win, Hamilton achieved a significant feat of damage limitation to cross the line in third place meaning that his lead in the championship from 19 to nine points.

"The car was great in the race. Of course everything still has to come together - the start is critical, and then with the red flag and everything made it a bit more altogether messy.

"Once I got ahead there was a little bit of pressure from Daniel at the beginning of the second stint because he was on a soft tyre, but after that I really had good control of everything."

Rosberg dismissed suggestions that he might have been expecting to be able to make better progress in the title battle given Hamilton's handicap this weekend.

"I'm not disappointed, I'm happy with today. I'm happy to have won the race, it's been a great weekend for me and thank you Lewis who did a good job ... From last place to third must have been very impressive.

"It’s been a great weekend. I’m very, very happy with that result," he added. "It’s been great of course to get the win today and it’s a special track, it’s a legendary track."

And Rosberg was not unduly perturbed by the rough reception he received from the crowd during the podium celebrations, appreciating that it came from their dismay after a tough race for the local favourite Verstappen.

"I understand that some of you are a bit disappointed because I understand that some of you wanted Verstappen up here," he said during the post-race interview.

"Another year," he continued. "He’s very young, he has many years to go and you’ve been amazing this weekend. So many of you have come, it’s been impressive to see, a great atmosphere."

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