Rosberg penalized by Mercedes’ tire strategy
A long way behind his team-mate Lewis Hamitlon, who set the fastest time in both free practice sessions, Nico Rosberg blamed his relatively poor performance on Mercedes' tire strategy, which saw hard rubber fitted to his car in FP2.
In order to maintain a total balance between their two drivers, each taking turns, Hamilton and Rosberg are forced to sacrifice a Friday practice session to test the hardest tires brought by Pirelli at each Grand Prix.
In Baku, it was Nico Rosberg’s turn to step up, which, according to him, explains his relatively underwhelming performance compared to his teammate: « Lewis was very fast today. But I had the disadvantage of having to drive on Medium tires this afternoon while Lewis was on softer tires, which allowed him to find speed more quickly. »
Rosberg explains Mercedes’ strategy on this subject as follows: « One weekend it’s my turn, the other weekend it’s his. But on a new track like this, it’s a bit more penalizing. But from tomorrow, I will have every opportunity to attack and I will be well present. »
For the moment, his breakdown during FP2 has not yet been identified by Mercedes, but this does not overly worry the current championship leader: « The engine is starting to get a bit old, so it might be coming from there. But it’s not a problem at all, so I’m not worried. »
On his side, Lewis Hamilton had a lot of fun on a track he was criticizing at the beginning of the weekend: “It’s a great day for me and a great way to start the weekend. The track is not easy, not because the layout is hard to learn, but because it’s very slippery. It’s a real challenge and I think it will be tough for everyone. I loved driving here!”
