Nico Rosberg believes closest F1 rivals haven't shown all their cards
Nico Rosberg continues to insist that he and Mercedes cannot relax given the potential threat from Ferrari.
Rosberg, who scored his third win of the season in China, cautioned that the Maranello team has struggled to enjoy a clean weekend.
“It's great to win, that's what I race for,” he said. “I race to win, and to win the first three is awesome, I never expected it to go that way, even if it's the goal of course. I couldn't really have expected that. So it's good, and great to see how we're still the quickest car out there, also.
“Ferrari haven't really shown what they can do at all yet, they've had so many mishaps all the time, and we really think they are very, very close to us. So we really need to keep our heads down, keep pushing. Even in qualifying Kimi messed up, otherwise he would have been on it, close to us. So we need to keep going.”
He also sees RBR as a potential threat: “Red Bull was a surprise this weekend, they were close in qualifying, and close in the race. Although we do see Ferrari right on us, and Red Bull were still half a second away this weekend, and that's still a big chunk. But they did make a big step, which was a surprise, considering that they likely don't have as much engine power as us. They are a force to be reckoned with as well.”
On the nine previous occasions that a driver has won the opening three races of an F1 season, he has gone on to win the World Championship. However, Rosberg wasn't impressed by that statistic.
“But they didn't have Lewis Hamilton as their teammate, those other nine! I don't see it that way at all. It's a handful of races now. Yeah, it's gone really well. Longest season in F1 history, Lewis Hamilton my team mate, double World Champion [with Mercedes], hard to beat in the previous three years.
“So it's going to be a great battle, I look forward to it. Of course I have a little bit of an advantage now, which is good, better that way than the other way. That's it really, just enjoying it, and I'm going to make the most of it race by race. I'm now looking forward to Sochi very soon already.”
Regarding Lewis Hamilton's recent misfortune, he said: “I don't really think about that. It's a fact that it's going to be a great battle against him, as always. He's at the top of his game, as ever, fully concentrated and motivated and everything. That's it really. I'm just focused on my thing and getting the job done to the best of my ability, and that's worked out well for the first three.”
Nico says that his experience of the last two title fights will help him this year.
“I try to make progress of course, but it's difficult to say now that I'm driving much better. Of course the experience will help a little bit, because now it's the third year that I'm in this situation, so that's likely to give me a little bit of help.”
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