Nico beaten by Hamilton in every qualifying and race so far in 2015
Tuesday 21 April 2015 11:56, UK
A crestfallen Nico Rosberg has admitted he underestimated the threat from Sebastian Vettel after being relegated to third on the grid by the Ferrari in Bahrain qualifying.
Still reeling from the opprobrium that poured down on him after the German's ill-considered post-defeat outburst in China, Rosberg suffered in the spotlight – or, to be more precise, the floodlights – in Bahrain on Saturday when he was not only soundly beaten by Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton but also lost out to Ferrari’s Vettel.
“It’s been a terrible day for Rosberg,” summarised Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle immediately after the session, and the exasperated Mercedes driver was in no mood to disagree.
“I didn’t push enough in qualifying and I thought too much about the race,” Rosberg admitted to Sky F1. “That would have been fine if I finished second to Lewis, but finishing third. I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t see Sebastian being that quick and I didn’t think I would struggle that much as a result. I got it wrong today so I am definitely not happy.”
Rosberg has yet to beat Hamilton in either qualifying or a race this year and the gap between the pair has assumed extra significance amid Ferrari's resurgence and clear threat to Mercedes' hitherto serene supremacy.
"It’s a pity Nico didn’t get it [second] from Mercedes’ point of view,” noted Silver Arrows chief Niki Lauda. “But Vettel did a very good job.”
Ferrari greeted the unexpected front-row berth with high-fives on the pitwall and their jubilation could have been even more pronounced had Kimi Raikkonen produced another tenth of a second to demote the struggling Rosberg to fourth. Nevertheless, third still amounted to a crushing defeat.
“I am too much on the back foot being third,” added Rosberg. “I have better tyres, but it is a small thing, it is not a big difference, so definitely third place is not good.
“I underestimated Sebastian’s speed and also how much it would cost me by taking it easy in Q2 on the tyres which l will be starting the race on. I just lacked a rhythm as a result and that’s where it went wrong today. Being second would have been damage limitation but third really isn’t ideal.”
