Nico Rosberg says he is expecting Mercedes to have the fastest car again in the Chinese Grand Prix after being beaten in Malaysia.
Sebastian Vettel took a surprise victory for Ferrari in Sepang, beating Rosberg and team-mate Lewis Hamilton for pace as the four-time world champion could complete a two-stop strategy while the Mercedes’ stopped three times. While the defending champions said after the race that the result was good for the sport, Rosberg says he expects to hit back in China.
“I want to win, so of course having Sebastian win in Malaysia was not good,” Rosberg said. “I hope to beat him and Lewis here, and that’s it. I’m sure also here we will have a stronger car than in Malaysia. I’m expecting us to be the best again here.”
And Rosberg says Vettel’s victory has also caused Mercedes to push even harder to defend its position as the fastest team.
“It was a shock to us. A shock might be too harsh a word but close to that anyway because we didn’t expect it at all. We were very, very confident that we were the quickest, so it was very surprising and definitely a big wake-up call for us. You can really feel it in the team, it’s given us a fresh impulse which is also good for us because it will push us to higher things.”
Click here for Chris Medland's Chinese Grand Prix preview.
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