Nico Rosberg discusses brake management after Singapore concerns
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg admits that the challenge to manage his brakes was "difficult" at the end of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, especially when he was coming under attack from Daniel Ricciardo.
Mercedes knew before the race that brakes would be marginal and that they could not be used to maximum effect for the full distance, and from the very early stages both drivers were reminded of the need to conserve them.
Later, Rosberg was heard asking the pit wall how much he could take out of the brakes at the end of the race as Ricciardo was catching him up.
"It's only difficult when the pressure is on at the end of the race," said the German. "At the beginning everything was under control, so it was OK. I just had to manage a bit. Of course it was costing me pace, and then just on the softs I didn't feel quite as comfortable as with the ultrasoft. And then when you have to manage the brakes and it costs performance, it becomes difficult. I just pushed to the limit all the time, of course.
"All the way through I had to manage the brakes. This is the track where the car is going to be on the limit, we knew that was coming, and we got it right. It's just pushing everything to the limit, as you do in F1."
Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe stressed that the car is designed to fine margins, and the team was always aware that brakes would have to be nursed at certain venues.
"They didn't have any problems with brakes, it's a question of management," said Lowe. "The quickest race car we can build doesn't allow the driver to brake flat out every lap, so they have to manage their brakes the same way they manage tires and manage fuel. So you can't do qualifying laps every lap.
"But you can't do that anyway, from a tire point of view. At some circuits like this one the brake issue becomes more dominant. It's lift and coast, the same thing you do for tires, fuel and brakes, just lift at the end of the straight a little bit."
