Nico Rosberg Takes The Win in MexicoBy: S. Harding, Xiro Xone News November 01, 2015
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg takes his 4th win of the season at the Mexican Grand Prix. Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg took a big win at the Mexican Grand Prix after losing a chance at the championship to Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton last week in Austin. With a change in strategy halfway through the race and a late safety car, Rosberg went on to take his 4th win of the season.
“At the time I wanted to do just… I didn’t want to come in because I was really comfortable at the time, I had a good gap to Lewis so it sort of reset things a little bit, going on another set of tires so I wasn’t too happy with that but I understand that it was the better thing to do – especially in light of the Safety Car that came out because it was important to have fresher tyres at that point in time. I’m happy I was able to control the race. The only moment that was a bit difficult was on the restart with the cold tyres – but it was OK.” Said Rosberg Teammate Lewis Hamilton ran a solid race on a track where it is difficult to stay close to the car in front. It was a double retirement for Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, with Raikkonen taking damage from contact with Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel spinning on lap 52. Bottas went on to claim a solid third place for Williams. Red Bull had to settle for fourth and fifth in front of Felipe Massa. “I don’t know if there’s anything to really speak about. For me, we were racing hard, obviously, and normally, what I’m used to in those kind of situations, there is enough for two cars when you go into a chicane like that but this time there wasn’t. And of course I’m not going to back off, I’m fighting for the positions. I was calculating the risk, I think there was a decent possibility to get through. But, hey, it ended up like this. I don’t know if there’s anything really to speak about. Unlucky that it was us two that collided again.” Said Bottas 
Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas
With Raikkonen out of the race, Ferrari's hopes were pinned on Sebastian Vettel, who started third but suffered contact of his own with Ricciardo in the first corner. The light collision resulted in a puncture for Vettel, dropping him to the back of the pack and forcing him to fight his way back to 12th. A spin on lap 18 set him back again before a second spin on lap 52 ended his race with heavy contact with the barriers.
The result means Rosberg is 21 points clear of Vettel in the battle for second place with just two rounds remaining in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. There is still a lot to play for with Lewis Hamilton looking to add to his stats in pole positions and race wins and the rest of the grid looking to end their respective seasons on a high note. |
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