- Canadian GP - Race
'Qualifying laps' earn Rosberg second
Nico Rosberg admits he had to put in a series of qualifying-esque laps to keep the chasing pack at bay for so long as he nursed his stuttering Mercedes home for second in Canada.
Until the middle stint Rosberg had done well to keep team-mate Lewis Hamilton behind him out in front but soon both Mercedes cars were suffering similar problems, with Hamilton forced to retire with limited hybrid power and brake issues. Rosberg was able to continue and was initially given breathing space by Sergio Perez holding the Red Bulls up in second, before Daniel Ricciardo eventually broke free and passed for the lead on the penultimate lap.
Rosberg had to coax his car around the circuit at times after his car suffered energy recovery problems and he admits he had limited knowledge of what the issues were in the final stint.
"It was a big battle all the way," Rosberg said about his early duel with Hamilton. "At the start I didn't have the best getaway but I got better through Turn 1 and managed to keep the lead, from then on it was a big battle all the way through. I managed to stay ahead until the first pit stop and then we had a problem, I think that's the main thing and I dropped behind as a result.
"From then on I didn't really know what was going on because I lost a lot of power. I was very slow down the straights and just trying to hang on, just putting in qualifying laps all the time, but that didn't quite work out against Ricciardo."
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