Nico Rosberg admitted he was surprised at the performance advantage he and Lewis Hamilton enjoyed in their one-two victory ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Despite gaining second place ahead of defending champion Hamilton at the start, four-time champion Vettel was overhauled by Mercedes’ three stop strategy and finished 45 seconds adrift.
“I think it was a surprise,†said Rosberg. “It was much more than we have seen in recent races. It is a big step in the right direction and a bit of a surprise.
“But it confirmed and showed we have an awesome car at the moment. I think we won the development race this weekend so for us this is an important indication for the season.â€
Vettel disagreed with Rosberg’s assessment.
“I don’t think this is the reality,†said the German. “In general, I think our car is fine on every circuit this year, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t be competitive here,” he said.
“Yes, we hoped to be a bit a closer, but it’s not over yet.
“In the past, this circuit is usually quite a good indication of how good your car is and so we still have some work to do. Obviously everybody has to push to make a step forward so I am looking forward to the next races.
“Maybe one race is not enough to confirm everything.â€
Meanwhile, Hamilton finished in the top two for the 12th consecutive race — a run that is the second best of all time.
Only seven-time champion Michael Schumacher has managed more top two results in a sequence, 15 in 2002.