Rosberg sees struggling Mercedes: "Under pressure and making mistakes"
General
- GPblog.com
Every Formula 1-fan held their breath when Max Verstappen managed to overtake world champion Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap in a finger-licking race. Mercedes again failed to come out on top of the strategic battle with Red Bull Racing, who used Mercedes' own weapon from the Barcelona race against them.
Criticism
This was also seen by Nico Rosberg, who was present again as an analyst on Sky Sports. The man who became world champion with Mercedes in 2016 is critical of the way Bottas and his former arch-enemy Hamilton defended against the unleashed Verstappen: "Bottas defended dramatically. He chose to block Max completely unnecessarily, causing him to run wide and then allowing Max to pass easily. He should have done that much smarter."
Hamilton, too, could have done a bit more in his fight with Max, according to Rosberg: "I thought it was a bit soft from Lewis. Normally Lewis is the best in one-on-one duels, so I'm surprised he didn't try to defend. Brake late and then let Max at least try to pass on the outside. I thought it was unusual for Lewis. Just throw that door shut!"
Mercedes making mistakes under pressure
Although Mercedes is Rosberg's ex-employer he is delighted that his former team are now facing some fierce competition: "You can definitely see the pressure on Mercedes. They are still a phenomenal team, but the speed of Red Bull... They are starting to become more and more the dominating force, putting pressure on Mercedes so they are making mistakes. They have to be careful and can't afford any more mistakes to have a chance this season."