Both Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 drivers have shared their disappointment and disbelief at falling back from their front row grid slots, to such a degree that Lewis Hamilton was actually lapped during the Spanish Grand Prix.
Rosberg and Hamilton locked out the front row in Qualifying but were left with no answer to the stronger race pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.
In fact, the Brackley based squad had arguably the fifth slowest car on the grid during the 66 lap race, behind the likes of Lotus and Force India.
The drivers split their strategies, with Rosberg just managing the more favourable three stop strategy and Hamilton having to go for a four-stopper due to the increased tyre wear.
Speaking after the race in a team press release, Nico Rosberg admitted that it was a "very tough" day at the office. However he started with the positives and said "The start was good and I managed my first stint well to keep some of the quicker cars behind me."
However it progressively got worse from there, continuing "From there, I had to drive my own race and we began to go backwards as it made no sense to destroy my tyres by trying to stay ahead. We didn't have the pace of the quickest cars today and there's a growing hap to three teams ahead of us which we need to get on top of.
The W04 seems to work extremely well in qualifying but when asked to use the tyres for over one or two laps, it fails. "We have a very quick car but we have to make it work for us in the race."
Hamilton had a far worse race, dropping back at the start. He continued to struggle, saying it is "never fun" to go backwards, and eventually crossed the line to finish 12th.
He was expected to complete a three stop strategy but the team soon realised that was not going to happen. "We switched to a four-stop strategy during the race but I suffered with a lack of grip and balance throughout and we were never really able to get the tyres working."
However he has faith in his team, that they will get to the bottom of the cars troubled race performance. "I'm sure we will figure the problem out and we've got to keep pushing together to close the gap. I will be doing my best to help and encourage the guys." He also added that it is important to "keep positive."
Ross Brawn agreed with his two race drivers, saying "We endured a very difficult afternoon and the comparison between our competitiveness in qualifying and in the race was particularly disappointing."
He praised Rosberg for "managing the tyres" well but admitted that Hamilton "didn't have a good balance at any point and that simply made a critical situation worse."
The teams Executive Director Toto Wolff chimed in, saying "It is very clear that we have not yet found the right compromise between our performance on Saturday and Sunday."
It gives Mercedes a lot of work to do because the difference in performance between qualifying and the race is proving costly, Saturday yields no prizes and that is what the team are missing out on.
It seems like this problem is not a quick fix, they were confident pre-Barcelona that their upgrades would help improve their race pace. They clearly haven't and the two downbeat drivers will be hoping for better fortunes in Monaco, a track that they both enjoy racing around.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Rosberg and Hamilton locked out the front row in Qualifying but were left with no answer to the stronger race pace of Ferrari and Red Bull.
In fact, the Brackley based squad had arguably the fifth slowest car on the grid during the 66 lap race, behind the likes of Lotus and Force India.
The drivers split their strategies, with Rosberg just managing the more favourable three stop strategy and Hamilton having to go for a four-stopper due to the increased tyre wear.
Speaking after the race in a team press release, Nico Rosberg admitted that it was a "very tough" day at the office. However he started with the positives and said "The start was good and I managed my first stint well to keep some of the quicker cars behind me."
However it progressively got worse from there, continuing "From there, I had to drive my own race and we began to go backwards as it made no sense to destroy my tyres by trying to stay ahead. We didn't have the pace of the quickest cars today and there's a growing hap to three teams ahead of us which we need to get on top of.
The W04 seems to work extremely well in qualifying but when asked to use the tyres for over one or two laps, it fails. "We have a very quick car but we have to make it work for us in the race."
Hamilton had a far worse race, dropping back at the start. He continued to struggle, saying it is "never fun" to go backwards, and eventually crossed the line to finish 12th.
He was expected to complete a three stop strategy but the team soon realised that was not going to happen. "We switched to a four-stop strategy during the race but I suffered with a lack of grip and balance throughout and we were never really able to get the tyres working."
However he has faith in his team, that they will get to the bottom of the cars troubled race performance. "I'm sure we will figure the problem out and we've got to keep pushing together to close the gap. I will be doing my best to help and encourage the guys." He also added that it is important to "keep positive."
Ross Brawn agreed with his two race drivers, saying "We endured a very difficult afternoon and the comparison between our competitiveness in qualifying and in the race was particularly disappointing."
He praised Rosberg for "managing the tyres" well but admitted that Hamilton "didn't have a good balance at any point and that simply made a critical situation worse."
The teams Executive Director Toto Wolff chimed in, saying "It is very clear that we have not yet found the right compromise between our performance on Saturday and Sunday."
It gives Mercedes a lot of work to do because the difference in performance between qualifying and the race is proving costly, Saturday yields no prizes and that is what the team are missing out on.
It seems like this problem is not a quick fix, they were confident pre-Barcelona that their upgrades would help improve their race pace. They clearly haven't and the two downbeat drivers will be hoping for better fortunes in Monaco, a track that they both enjoy racing around.
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