Nico Rosberg simply relishing the moment after first Singapore GP win
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg regained the lead of the World Championship with his superb victory in Singapore on Sunday, and the German is now eight points clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton with six races left to run.
Rosberg was hunted down by Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages of the race after the Red Bull driver fitted new soft tires for the last 14 laps, but he just managed to stay ahead.
"With 10 laps to go, or 15 laps to go, just after the pit stop, the team said he would be with me at the end of the race," said Rosberg. "Which was the case, so for sure I had to be on it in that last stint and get everything right and nail all those laps.
"It really worked out, with the management, all the way to the end. The tire lasted just right, so very, very happy, of course. By the time I started the last lap I knew it was going to be enough because Daniel also, his tires weren't as fresh anymore, so by that time it was OK.
"The brakes were just on the limit. But we know that, it's expected and it worked out fine. Yes, it's right on the edge so it was not easy to manage throughout the whole race."
Rosberg said the win showed the strength of the Mercedes team because of the way it turned around last year's disappointment at the same venue.
"It really shows that not only do we have the best car but also we have the best, most competent group of engineers, to extract the potential from the best car, from every weekend, changing the car, adapting to the new circuits, to the different circuits and understanding, because last year we were absolutely nowhere here. We got destroyed by Red Bull and Ferrari and we understood what we did wrong and came back this year and beat them on their strongest track. That's really awesome to see that."
Despite logging his third straight victory, Rosberg still insists that he's not yet thinking about the title battle.
"No, I'm just excited about winning the race today. I'm not excited about any of those other points. Sorry. Just awesome to win here in Singapore, first time out there. I don't have the best of memories here, this track hasn't treated me well here in the past so today is a good one."
