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Germany's Nico Rosberg celebrated the first victory of his Formula One career with a commanding pole-to-flag win for Mercedes in China on Sunday
While the son of 1982 champion Keke sprayed the champagne to mark the end of an 111-race wait, the German manufacturer rolled back the decades to savour their first grand prix success as a works team since 1955.
"Brilliant race, Nico. Just brilliant," yelled team principal Ross Brawn over the radio as the 26-year-old let out a long and loud whoop of delight after taking the chequered flag.
Britain's Jenson Button finished a distant second for Mercedes-powered McLaren, 20.6 seconds behind, with team mate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton third for the third race in a row to take the championship lead.
Hamilton now has 45 points after three races to Button's 43. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who had led before Shanghai, finished ninth and dropped to third overall with 37.
Rosberg's victory was the first by Mercedes, as a works team, since 1955, when Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won that year's season-ending Italian Grand Prix from pole.
Mercedes pulled out of Formula One as a works team in 1955 and did not return, other than as an engine partner, until 2010 after buying the title-winning Brawn team.
While Rosberg celebrated, drenching Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug in champagne on the podium with the eager assistance of Button and Hamilton, there was disappointment for team mate Michael Schumacher.
The seven times world champion, winner of a record 91 races, had started alongside Rosberg on the front row but the 43-year-old's hopes of a first podium appearance since he was at Ferrari in 2006, disappeared on lap 13 after a pitstop.
To the despair of the mechanic on the front right wheel, Schumacher was given the signal to go before the nut was attached properly. He rejoined the race before having to pull off and retire.
"The front wheel got a bit loose, but I don't know what happened. I feel a bit sorry for one of my boys, but that's part of the game," said Schumacher philosophically.
Button's hopes of a second win in three races were also dashed in the pits when the crew struggled with the rear left, losing vital seconds, at his third and final stop.
Australian Mark Webber was fourth for Red Bull with double world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel fifth after starting 11th, his lowest grid placing since 2009.
Frenchman Romain Grosjean took his first points for Lotus with sixth place, ahead of the Williams cars of Brazilian Bruno Senna and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado.
Sauber's Japanese Kamui Kobayashi took the final point for Sauber in 10th.FH
1. Rosberg Mercedes 1h36:26.929
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 20.6
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 26.0
4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.9
5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 30.4
6. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 31.4
7. Senna Williams-Renault + 34.5
8. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 35.6
9. Alonso Ferrari + 37.2
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 38.7
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 41.0
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 42.2
13. Massa Ferrari + 42.7
14. Räikkönen Lotus-Renault + 50.5
15. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 51.2
16. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 51.7
17. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:03.1
18. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
19. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
21. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
22. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 3 laps
Source: Reuters Sports
Nico Rosberg will start his Chinese Grand Prix from the pole position slot after blitzing the field by half a second in Shanghai
It took Rosberg 110 starts to get there, however, he won't be counting that number. In a perfect lap to start Q3, Rosberg clocked a 1:35.121 to edge Lewis Hamilton by a massive 0.505s.
With Hamilton incurring a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change it will be an all-Mercedes front row as Michael Schumacher moves up from third to second.
Kamui Kobayashi was fourth quickest on Saturday and will therefore move up to P3 on the second row alongsideKimi Raikkonen.
Jenson Button is up to fifth and will start with Mark Webber alongside him. Hamilton is down to P7. The big surprise of qualifying was Sebastian Vettel failing to make Q3.
Times
01 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.121
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:35.626 0.505
03 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.691 0.570
04 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:35.784 0.663
05 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:35.898 0.777
06 Jenson Button McLaren 1:36.191 1.070
07 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:36.290 1.169
08 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:36.524 1.403
09 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.622 1.501
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus No time
11 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:36.031 0.33
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.255 0.555
13 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:36.283 0.583
14 Bruno Senna Williams 1:36.289 0.589
15 Paul di Resta Force India 1:36.317 0.617
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:36.745 1.045
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:36.956 1.256
18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:37.714 1.422
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:38.463 2.171
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:38.677 2.385
21 Timo Glock Marussia 1:39.282 2.990
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:39.717 3.425
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:40.411 4.119
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:41.000 4.708
Source: Planet-F1
Nico Rosberg will start from strong positions in Melbourne this week when the F1-serie starts.
– I have waited a long time for this. I had a perfect winter break, rested well and trained even better. Then it was the very successful test period with our new W03-car. We are ready for the first GP.
– The atmosphere in Melbourne is completely fantastic. It's a great place and the fans are fantastic. It's interesting to see where we are in qualification after all the hard work and speculations.
Rosberg also noted Kimi Räikkönen's strong comeback to F1 with pleasure.
– It's a totally brilliant thing for F1. Kimi is one of the best drivers from the 10 last years and certainly one of the best who have ever driven a F1-car. It's great to get him back to the races. It lifts up the sport's class, Rosberg smiled to Turun Sanomat.
Then what is best in the new Mercedes, which is expected to be one more possible winner based upon winter tests?
– That everything works like planned. The car is well built and it works on the track just as expected - unlike what happened during the last two years, Rosberg praises.
Turun Sanomat
HEIKKI KULTA
Courtesy: Nicole
Mercedes GP's 2011 challenger once again upstaged the new cars on day three of the pre-season test in Jerez with Nico Rosberg topping the timesheets
World Champion Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton were all in action for the first time on Thursday, but it was Rosberg who took the P1 honours with a blistering time of 1:17.613.
It was the second consecutive day that Merc set the pace after Michael Schumacher posted a 1:18.561 on Wednesday. With the team opting to skip the fourth and final day of testing on Friday, it was also the perfect send-off for the W02 as Merc will introduce their 2012 challenger ahead of the next test in Barcelona.
Lotus also continued their keep up with the pace at the front as Romain Grosjean led the way in the 2012-spec cars. The Frenchman was the early pacesetter before Rosberg blew everyone away with his 1:17 mark. Grosjean's best effort in his E20 was 0.806 slower than that of the German..
After watching from the sidelines on the first two days, Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton finally got a taste of the action. Vettel put his RB8 in third place with a 1:19.297, but Hamilton was just under two tenths off his time.
Alonso and Ferrari didn't have the smoothest of days as the Spaniard spent nearly two hours of the morning session in the garage with a hydraulic problem.
Things went a little better in the afternoon and, with Ferrari focusing on data collection and not times, he finished seventh but put in some consistent times on the medium Pirelli tyres.
Thursday proved to be a fruitless day for Force India after reserve and test driver Jules Bianchi had a shunt early on. Although damage to the VJM05 was not severe, the team were forced to skip the rest of the day due to a lack of spare parts.
"It was just a small mistake from my side," Bianchi told ESPNF1.
"Some wheelspin with cold tyres and I went into the gravel and touched a little bit the rear wheel and damaged the car a bit. I'm very sorry for the team because it's had to do a lot of work for a small mistake. I'm really sorry about that."
Caterham reserve Giedo van der Garde also had an excursion off the track, but his CT01 wasn't damaged.
Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne and Bruno Ssenna made their official debuts as they drove for Toro Rosso and Williams respectively.
Vergne's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo impressed on the first two days and the Frenchman proved that there is plenty of pace in the STR7 as he finished fifth while Senna was the busiest driver on the track, having completed 125 laps.
Only 10 teams are in action after HRT decided to back up and head home after Wednesday. Marrusia, meanwhile, skipped the session altogether.
Times
1.N Rosberg Mercedes GP W02 1:17.613 118 laps
2. R Grosjean Lotus E20 1:18.419 +0.806 117
3. S Vettel Red Bull RB8 1:19.297 +1.684 96
4. L Hamilton McLaren MP4-27 1:19.464 +1.851 80
5. J Vergne Toro Rosso STR7 1:19.734 +2.121 78
6. S Perez Sauber C31 1:19.770 +2.157 48
7. F Alonso Ferrari F2012 1:20.412 +2.799 67
8. B Senna Williams FW34 1:21.293 +3.680 125
9. G van der Garde Caterham CT01 1:23.324 +5.711 74
10. J Bianchi Force India VJM-05 0:00.000 2
Source: Planet-F1
The "big three" got their first taste of winter testing at Jerez on day three, but Nico Rosberg stole their early morning thunder to set the pace
After sitting out the first two days, World Champion Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren were all taking part in pre-season testing for the first time on Thursday.
However, for the second day in a row it was the 2011-spec Mercedes GP that topped the timesheets.
Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher posted a 1:18.561 on Wednesday and Rosberg went even better in the morning session on day three with a 1:17.613.
Lotus also continued their good pace in the south of Spain with Romain Grosjean, who set the pace early on, finding himself just +0.806 off Rosberg's best effort.
After Jenson Button found himself in the bottom half on the opening two days, team-mate Lewis Hamilton pushed the MP4-27 into third place with a 1:19.464. The Woking-squad, though, have always maintained that they are using most of the days in Jerez to do some "exploratory" work.
Toro Rosso, meanwhile, continued to keep pace with the big boys with rookie Jean-Eric Vergne putting his STR in seventh place.
Red Bull's Vettel was only sixth fastest with a 1:20.154 while Alonso was a further 0.258 behind him in seventh.
"The programme will be very similar to what has been done in the previous days by Felipe (Massa). The main target is data acquisition about the car," Ferrari said via their Twitter feed before the start.
However, things didn't go according to plan in the first hour as Alonso was forced to take a long break following an hydraulic problem.
Force India reserve driver Jules Bianchi also had to sit out the majority of the morning session after he crashed his VJM-05 into the tyre wall.
"The guys are busy in the garage repairing the VJM05. We will hopefully be back out in the afternoon so that Nico (Hulkenberg) can get his first run," Force India said via Twitter.
Only 10 teams are in action in Jerez on the final two days after HRT decided to back up and head home after Wednesday. Marrusia, meanwhile, skipped the session altogether.
Unofficial times
1.N Rosberg Mercedes GP W02 1:17.613 77 laps
2. R Grosjean Lotus E20 1:18.419 +0.806 53
3. L Hamilton McLaren MP4-27 1:19.464 +1.851 38
4. J Vergne Toro Rosso STR7 1:19.734 +2.121 41
5. S Perez Sauber C31 1:19.770 +2.157 31
6. S Vettel Red Bull RB8 1:20.154 +2.541 34
7. F Alonso Ferrari F2012 1:20.412 +2.799 34
8. B Senna Williams FW34 1:21.293 +3.680 73
9. G van der Garde Caterham CT01 1:23.505 +5.892 44
10. J Bianchi Force India VJM-05 0:00.000 2
Source: Planet-F1
Watch the new Mercedes SLK TV Commercial for Mercedes-Benz China with Nico Rosberg and the famous chinese actor Fan BingBing!Source: nicorosbergtv
Although Nico Rosberg says he is committed to Merc GP, he has warned that he wants to be in a race-winning position in the "not too distant future."
Rosberg joined Mercedes GP from Williams at the start of 2010, teaming up with Michael Schumacher in an all-German line-up at the German team.
And at first it appeared as if Rosberg would finally get the opportunity to fight for his first F1 race victory as the team had won the Championship double the previous season under the Brawn GP banner.
However, it was not to be.
Mercedes GP took a dramatic step backward in 2010 with team boss Ross Brawn later conceding they were suffering from a Championship-winning hangover.
And although more was expected from the outfit this season, Mercedes GP's W02 has so far failed to deliver with neither Rosberg nor Schumacher reaching the podium.
But despite his lack of race wins, Rosberg has been linked to big-named teams such as Ferrari, who are reportedly interested in signing the former Williams driver.
Rosberg, though, insists it's just rumours.
"Obviously there is interest from other top teams, which is a good thing for my career for sure. But that is about it at the moment. There is nothing more than that," Rosberg told Autosport.
However, the German did warn his team that he wants to be in a race-winning position in the near future.
"The next step is to be in a car where I can win races in the not too distant future - whatever step that may be."
But, having said that, he insists he's not impatient to get to that position and is committed to building the Mercedes GP team.
"To start off, the answer on that is that I am driving for Mercedes GP as a German, and I am part of the process of building up this team," he said.
"I have the opportunity to help lead this team - so it is pretty clear that it is a fantastic opportunity. I would never say that I am uncomfortable or something.
"Additionally I feel very comfortable in the team because there is a great bunch of people, so all in all it is a nice situation to be in, to be part of this project and part of this challenge. But of course, I am a racing driver - and above all I would like to win races.
"I wouldn't say I am impatient for it, but I hope that it will come soon - and that is why I am pushing hard at the moment. As always." Source: Planet-F1
Nico Rosberg put his Merc GP's straight-line speed to good use, taking the P1 slot in Practice One while Seb Vettel put his RB7 into the Wall of Champs
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the early pace in Montreal on Friday morning, mixing it up with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.
Felipe Massa also joined the tussle, while late-starter Vettel only ventured out after half the session was already over.
And, unfortunately for the Red Bull driver, what time he had left was cut short when he locked up into the final corner and slammed his RB7 into the Wall of Champions.
With the session back underway after six minutes, it was Alonso and the two McLaren drivers fighting for the P1 slot before Merc GP's Rosberg put in a late charge to beat them all.
Rosberg finished up with a 1:15.591, 0.548s up on Alonso while Schumacher was third fastest.
Report: Blue skies and sunshine greeted the drivers at the start of Friday morning's practice for the Canadian GP with the track temperature already up to 27'C as Heikki Kovalainen led out the drivers for their installation laps. Problems for Jarno Trulli with as the Team Lotus driver hit a bird on his installation lap. Not a pretty sight on his front wing.
Toro Rosso tester Daniel Ricciardo got proceedings underway with a 1:26.560. His reign was short-lived as Fernando Alonso took the P1 slot with a 1:19.981 and Michael Schumacher slotted into second place. Schumacher went on to overhaul Alonso with a 1:18.821 while Lewis Hamilton claimed third place.
The McLaren driver continued lapping, taking first place by almost half a second ahead of Schumacher. Jaime Alguersuari put his Toro Rosso into third place with Nico Hulkenberg taking fourth ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg.
Alonso returned to the front with a 1:18.326 before being dropped by Rosberg and also by Webber, who was 0.029s off the P1 time. Hamilton improved to fourth. It was all-change, though, as Felipe Massa hit the front, the first driver into the 1:17s.
Sebastian Vettel finally hit the track for his first timed lap, taking 17th place. The reigning Champ continued lapping, improving to 10th place. Alguersuari was the latest to be caught out at Turn 8, however, it was Vettel who was well and truly caught out.
Out on the soft tyres, the reigning World Champ locked up his right front under braking for the chicane and hit, yip, the Wall of Champions! Vettel escaped unhurt from the accident but the same cannot be said of his car. His RB7 suffered serious damage to the front right.
The session was red flagged for six minutes with the drivers quickly out on track. Massa almost followed Vettel into a wall, although a different wall, the one just after the Turn 3/4 chicane. Paul di Resta almost binned it as well, forcing Trulli to take evasive action. Nick Heidfeld spun his Renault, although that's better than his team-mate Vitaly Petrov who had not even set a time with 20 minutes remaining.
Alonso took over at the front with two purple sector times. Hamilton ran off the track and Button climbed to third place behind the two Ferraris. Rosberg overhauled the Ferraris, a 1:16.002 for the Merc GP driver. Schumacher took third place, 0.983s behind his team-mate. Rosberg, meanwhile, reported to his team that he could feel something burning in the cockpit. That's never good.
Practice One ended with Rosberg in the P1 slot with a 1:15.591. Alonso and Schumacher were second and third ahead of Massa and the two McLarens.
Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.591s 32 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.139s + 0.548 27 laps
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.549s + 0.958 30 laps
04. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.658s + 1.067 26 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.676s + 1.085 20 laps
06. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.842s + 1.251 19 laps
07. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.990s + 1.399 28 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.294s + 1.703 26 laps
09. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.445s + 1.854 28 laps
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.549s + 1.958 20 laps
11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.662s + 2.071 27 laps
12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.820s + 2.229 30 laps
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.458s + 2.867 31 laps
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m18.506s + 2.915 15 laps
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.648s + 3.057 35 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m18.852s + 3.261 8 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m18.932s + 3.341 20 laps
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m19.274s + 3.683 29 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m19.422s + 3.831 30 laps
20. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m19.577s + 3.986 26 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.838s + 4.247 31 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m19.960s + 4.369 23 laps
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.520s + 4.929 21 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.839s + 5.248 27 laps Source: Planet-F1
Nico Rosberg: I'm very happy with our performance in qualifying. After a difficult start to the season, we are getting closer to the front and I'm pleased that we are making a small step forward each weekend
Nico Rosberg was 'very happy' after qualifying third today for the F1 2011 Turkish Grand Prix.
Rosberg, who finished Friday practice in second and who was fourth in FP3 this morning, maintained that form this afternoon and on his second run in the top-ten shoot-out he just edged out McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to finish the day 'best of the rest', behind the ever-dominant Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Rosberg is now upbeat about his chances in tomorrow's 58-lap grand prix and after a rather difficult start to the season for the Brackley-based team, he will be looking to maximise on his best Q performance since the 2010 Malaysian GP.
“I'm very happy with our performance in qualifying and it's amazing to see where we are right now,” Rosberg reflected. “After a difficult start to the season, we are getting closer to the front and I'm pleased that we are making a small step forward each weekend.
“Thank you to the team for a great job so far. We saved one set of new soft tyres for the race, which will be important in terms of strategy. I'm really looking forward to the race.”
Mercedes boss Norbert Haug meanwhile was very impressed with Rosberg's performance and once again the 25-year-old outshone his illustrious team-mate, Michael Schumacher, who was just over a second slower. Schumacher will start eighth in the sister MGP W02.
“It was a great lap from Nico and everybody in the team has done a very good job to improve the car consistently over the last two Grand's Prix,” Haug remarked.
“Third place behind Sebastian and Mark is a good result for us and our guys have worked extremely hard.
“Michael did not get the perfect lap in Q3, after being second fastest during the morning session, but with a good start from his place on the fourth row, he can improve in the race.” Source: Crash.net
Nico Rosberg demonstrated that Mercedes GP's Chinese pace was not a one-off as he fought for the P1 slot in Friday's Turkish practice
Having qualified fourth last time out in China, Rosberg even led the grand prix for several laps before a fuel consumption issue dropped him down to fifth place.
And although Mercedes GP were encouraged by their pace in Shanghai, there were still a few questions about whether it was genuine.
The team insisted it was and Rosberg proved just that on Friday in Turkey when he finished with the second fastest time of the day, just 0.065s behind McLaren's Jenson Button.
"We have made a decent start to the weekend and I am optimistic for tomorrow. We had a productive afternoon and tried a lot of things with the car," said Rosberg.
"I didn't have too many problems with the tyres on the long run and I was quite surprised by the grip levels, which were higher than I expected. The wet tyres had a lot of grip this morning too.
"I'm happy with what we learned and expecting a very interesting time tomorrow and on Sunday."
Meanwhile, Schumacher finished the day in fourth place, 0.607s off the pace after putting in no fewer than three spins at Turn 11.
"We had quite a positive Friday, and it was especially good that we were able to test both wet and dry tyres. I hadn't really driven the wets so I'm pleased that I finally had some opportunity to use them.
"Also, my sessions were quite eventful with three spins in Turn 11.
"All in all, our car confirmed the performance improvement from China, so we can look forward to the rest of the weekend. We still have some questions relating to the set-up but I am confident we will sort them out tomorrow."
Team boss Ross Brawn has happy with the day's proceedings, saying: "We had a reasonably good day and it was nice to get a lot of work done.
"We had a good opportunity this morning to see what the car was like in the wet conditions. It was also the first time that Michael had really driven the car in the wet, so that's useful as the conditions this weekend could still be mixed.
"Then we had a nice dry session this afternoon and completed a lot of work on low and high fuel. The balance of the car isn't there yet and there is a lot of work ahead, but the team and drivers have worked very well today."
Source: Planet-F1
With the rain abating on Sunday afternoon, Nico Rosberg put in the fastest lap time seen at Barcelona this week
It was a gloomy start to Day Three at the Circuit de Catalunya with rain falling as the drivers ventured out.
The wet track gave the drivers valuable time on the Pirelli wet and intermediate tyres, however, it also claimed a few cars.
Pastor Maldonado was the first off in the wet, spinning his Williams FW33 into the gravel at Turn Five, while an hour later his fellow rookie Sergio Perez crashed his Sauber C30 at Turn Four.
But it wasn't just the rookies who were having a tough time of things as Felipe Massa brought out the red flags twice in less than half an hour. The Ferrari driver spun his F150th Italia at Turn Four and again at Turn Seven.
Massa and Toro Rosso test driver Daniel Ricciardo were the early pace-setters in the wet while Lewis Hamilton took over as the track began to dry out, leading the way at the lunchbreak.
But, by the close of play with the track completely dry, it was Rosberg who stormed to the front of the pack with his 1:23.168, which was 0.147s quicker than the week's previous best, which had been set by Sebastian Vettel on Friday.
The Mercedes GP driver's best was on a short qualifying style run while he had been down in the 1:29s when putting his car through a 15-lap stint.
Renault's Vitaly Petrov took second, 0.295 seconds slower than Rosberg, while Hamilton finished up in third, 0.690s off the pace.
Hamilton's day, though, was not without problems as reliability gremlins during the morning session repeatedly resulted in him having to return to the pits after just one or two laps.
Maldonado was next in line, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber. The latter was the final driver to bring out the red flags when he stopped out on track at Turn One in the final minute of the day's play. Webber was 1.827s off the pace.
Despite a water leak problem, Jarno Trulli put his Lotus T128 up into sixth place, finishing ahead of Perez and Force India's Adrian Sutil.
Sebastien Buemi, who only ran in the afternoon after replacing Toro Rosso test driver Ricciardo, and Massa completed the top ten.
Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:23.168 92 laps
02. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault 1:23.463 + 0.295 93 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:23.858 + 0.690 93 laps
04. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:24.815 + 1.647 60 laps
05. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:24.995 + 1.827 139 laps
06. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:25.454 + 2.286 48 laps
07. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:25.557 + 2.389 115 laps
08. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:25.720 + 2.552 102 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.155 + 2.987 31 laps
10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.508 + 3.340 123 laps
11. Timo Glock Virgin 1:26.598 + 3.430 97 laps
12. Giorgio Mondini Hispania 1:28.178 + 5.010 39 laps
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:28.329 + 5.161 42 laps
14. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania 1:30.722 + 7.554 32 laps
Source: Planet-F1
Nico Rosberg insists he's unfazed that Fernando Alonso singled out his team-mate and not him to be a huge threat in 2011
Alonso was recently asked for his thoughts on who his main rivals for this year's World title may be and surprised many by naming seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.
"The most dangerous Champion for me is always Michael," said the Ferrari driver. "Now in January if I have to choose one name I have to say Michael.
"He is seven-time Champion, he has nothing to prove. He had a difficult season but he is still a Champion. He is still super class and if the car is right he will be a contender."
And while there is no doubting Schumacher's pedigree, there are some doubts about whether he still has what it takes.
The German, who returned to F1 last season with Mercedes GP, finished ninth in 2010, 70 points behind Rosberg and 184 adrift of World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Asked whether he was "annoyed" that Alonso had chosen Schumacher over him as a potential threat, Rosberg told Auto Moto und Sport: "No, that doesn't interest me.
"But I found it a bit strange. Why not say Red Bull will be his nearest rival? That would be obvious."
Meanwhile, Rosberg has confirmed that he'll have the honour of debuting Merc GP's new W02 when it hits the track at Valencia on February 1st.
"I am going first," the 25-year-old told the DPA agency. "It will be interesting to see how it (the car) feels. You know pretty quickly how good it is going to be."
However, the German has downplayed his chances of winning the World title, although insists it will happen one day.
"It is probably unrealistic to go into the season saying we will win the Championship, but we will succeed sooner or later. We are on the right track."
Source: Planet-F1
Nico Rosberg during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011 in Berlin
Nico Rosberg is scheduled to give Mercedes’ new 2011 car, the W02, its debut outing on the first day of the Valencia test next month.
"I am going first," said the 25-year-old German, who last year scored 70 points more than his famous teammate Michael Schumacher.
Speaking at the Fashion Week in Berlin, Rosberg added that the pre-season test schedule has been devised to be "fair" to both him and Schumacher, even though getting the first run is "something special".
"It will be interesting to see how it (the W02) feels," the German is quoted by DPA agency.
"You know pretty quickly how good it is going to be," added Rosberg.
Schumacher, 42, will drive on day two.
Rosberg continued: "It is probably unrealistic to go into the season saying we will win the championship, but we will succeed sooner or later. We are on the right track."
In Mercedes GP’s first season after the re-branding of 2009 champions Brawn GP, the Brackley based team finished fourth overall.
Source: Motorsport.com
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg has admitted that he expected more as he joined the reigning World Champion team this season. Having achieved two podium finishes in four years at Williams, the German son of 1982 World Champion Keke has achieved three rostrum results this year but lies only seventh in the Drivers’ Championship.
Whereas the team formerly owned by Honda enjoyed double title-winning success under its Brawn GP guise in 2009, 2010 has proven to be a difficult campaign for the silver arrows, which look set to repeat Ferrari’s feat of 12 months ago by finishing fourth overall as outgoing Champions.
“I’m very happy about the comparative results with my team-mate but I admit that I did hope for more,” Rosberg told Autosprint magazine, with fellow German and 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher the equivalent of more than two race wins and one third place behind in the points table.
“When I signed the contract, I thought my team-mate was going to be Button and that was fine; then I heard that Jenson would be leaving and so I just hoped a quick and experienced driver would join me.”
Nico went on to confess that he was initially unsure over Schumacher’s link-up with a former managerial colleague of Benetton and Ferrari.
“I didn't know Michael in person but I knew about his long friendship with (Team Principal) Ross Brawn, so of course I didn't know if that was going to effect my situation,” he said, “but, in reality, it’s all been for the best.”
With Pirelli tyres possibly signalling a clean sheet for the entire field in 2011, Rosberg now hopes to significantly reduce the margin next season. “I want to fight for the title,” he began to sum up. “At the end of the day, the objective for any racing driver is to win the Formula 1 World Championship and I'm no exception.”
Source: GP Update
Michael Schumacher has hinted that his car has not always been on the same performance level as team-mate Nico Rosberg's Mercedes this season.
The seven-time world champion has endured a torrid season on his return to Formula One racing and has been consistently out-qualified and out-raced by the younger Rosberg.
And although Schumacher managed one of his better outings of the season with a sixth place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix, he indicated that there have been more problems with his car than with Rosberg's.
"The car worked great this time," Schumacher told German television channel RTL. "Unfortunately, I cannot say it has been that way at all the races.
"There have often been problems, especially on my car, in terms of the consistency, that were not always noticed from the outside. You only saw that I was slower. Both cars have not always been the same."
Mercedes' Norbert Haug did not disagree with Schumacher's claims.
"I cannot disagree with Michael. As far as the car is concerned, he is right," Haug told Bild newspaper.
Source: ESPNF1
Nico Rosberg was exhausted but happy after contesting his first full triathlon. The Mercedes driver, now a triathlon aficionado like Jenson Button, completed the full Olympic distance of the world championship round in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Button recently completed the comparable London triathlon in 2hr14mins, and 25-year-old Rosberg finished the swimming, cycling and running event in Austria in 2hr7mins, according to multiple German media reports. DPA news agency said he was nearly disqualified at one point for a helmet violation during the 40km cycling stage. "I've never done it (a triathlon) before," the German, who in Hungary had refused to disclose the name of the triathlon event to F1 reporters before departing for F1's August break, said. "It was a great event -- very hard, but I had a lot of fun. In the last five kilometres, I had no energy left. How people can do it is amazing.
"This is a new passion for me," Rosberg added at Kitzbuhel. After the cycling stint, 1.5km swimming leg and 10 kilometre run, he placed 44th overall, and 13th in the up-to-29 age category. Meanwhile, next Thursday and Friday, Rosberg will be testing world championship karts with a clutch of fellow F1 drivers. Also to feature names including Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari, the test will take place at the Lonato circuit near Brescia in northern Italy. Source: Motorsport
Nico Rosberg is "completely happy" with Mercedes GP, according to a spokesman from the Silver Arrows.
Earlier this week, Rosberg reportedly delivered a damning assessment of the team's 2010 challenger, labelling the car "a disaster."
He also spoke to the the Cologne Express of his disappointment of moving from "Williams to Mercedes because I thought I'd have a car capable of winning" only to find himself behind both Williams cars, "who were nowhere weeks ago", in last weekend's Valencia GP.
However, a Mercedes spokesman has now told ESPNF1 that the 25-year-old's quotes were taken out of context, adding that the German is "completely happy with the Silver Arrows team."
Source: Planet F1
It is going from bad to worse for Mercedes GP as Nico Rosberg has labelled the team's 2010 car a "disaster."
Switching from Williams to Mercedes GP at the end of last season, many expected Rosberg to be up there fighting for pole positions and even his first race victory.
But it was not to be.
Although he achieved two podium results in Malaysia and China, the German's results have subsequently slumped, although by no means as badly as his team-mate Michael Schumacher's.
With just 25 points in the last five grands prix, Rosberg has fallen to seventh in the Drivers' standings and there is little sign that things are coming right as the team suffered their race the last time out in Europe.
And Mercedes GP's fall from the top - the team having won the World titles under the Brawn GP banner in 2009 - has left Rosberg rather frustrated with his W01.
"This is a disaster," he told the Cologne Express.
"The problem with the tyres is well known within the team. For weeks, we have said we would move forward but nothing happened - in fact it we're going backwards."
Adding insult to injury, Rosberg also found himself trailing his former team Williams in the Europe GP.
"If you start in twelfth behind both Williams, who were nowhere weeks ago, what can you expect from there? I went from Williams to Mercedes because I thought I'd have a car capable of winning."
Meanwhile, team boss Ross Brawn admitted that time is running out for the team to salvage this year's Championship.
"We have not done our job well enough," admitted Brawn.
"First we have to bring our new aero package up to scratch. Depending on how the results look, we will then decide if we will focus early on next season."Source: Planet F1
While the son of 1982 champion Keke sprayed the champagne to mark the end of an 111-race wait, the German manufacturer rolled back the decades to savour their first grand prix success as a works team since 1955.
