Rosbergs' race (Spanish GP)
It wasn't a very good weekend in Spain for both Williams F1 Team drivers. Nico Rosberg tells us all about 'his' race at the Cirucit de Catalunya near Barcelona. The youngster is already looking forward to his home race at Monaco.
Nico Rosberg "It was a tough weekend for us in Spain. Catalunya is a quick circuit and very hard to pass on so when neither my team-mate Mark Webber nor I made the top ten on the grid it was always going to be tricky. Starting from the middle of the grid as I did is awkward too, there is so much going on and you have to have eyes everywhere, I got away clean though which was satisfying.
Mechanically, the car is working very well at the moment, being quick on the very fast turns of Spain though depends mostly on the aerodynamic set-up, that’s where we can still find some speed and that’s all that held us back in qualifying.
Because the corners in Spain are so fast it’s a very difficult circuit to pass on, which can get a little frustrating. For example at the end when I was right up behind Jarno Trulli I knew I had the pace to beat him, but his defensive driving and the nature of the circuit meant that I couldn’t find a clean route through. I thought about taking a chance and diving in, but we were not racing for points so I decided it was not worth the risk.
I was up behind Trulli in the last few laps and by then Mark and I had both picked up some places and improved on our grid positions – albeit because other drivers dropped out. It was also very satisfying that after a couple of tricky races and one or two reliability issues both of us lasted the full distance. That is definitely a positive from the weekend.
Spain was also one of my most comfortable races in the cockpit, where I have made some modifications to my seating position. As a result I felt really good in what was one of the season’s most physically demanding races.
At the same time though I found the race quite frustrating. It is annoying to be stuck behind another car on a circuit that is so hard to pass on. Weekends like this in general are also quite hard to swallow, the whole team put in such a big effort from Thursday onwards, Mark and I then went out and drove like hell in the race and yet went home with nothing. That’s quite a new feeling for me.
Monte Carlo in two weeks’ time will be a very different race though and one that I’m looking forward to. It’s a circuit which favours mechanically quick cars, and that’s what we have in the FW28. The weekend on the whole should be nice for me because its my home town and I grew up there, I’ve got a lot of friends who will be out there to support me and the WilliamsF1 Team.
Although I know the town and the streets very well I’ve only ever driven the circuit once before. That was last year in the GP2 series and I managed a podium finish, which should give me a lot of confidence going into the race in two weeks’ time. It’s also going to be great going there as part of the F1 circus.
I’m six races into my first season now and I’m getting used to the lifestyle bit by bit. It’s still very exciting and it feels like everyday I’m learning something new and improving. One of the key things that I’ll be taking to Monte Carlo with me is to just relax in the car. I’m doing that more and more and it makes for a much better drive.
Hopefully I can combine everything and pick up a really good result in my home race."
