Nico Rosberg sounds very confident ahead of this weekend's European grand prix on the streets of Valencia. The breakthrough Shanghai winner, who also finished second recently at Monaco, is quoted by Germany's Sport1 as insisting the Mercedes is "absolutely the fastest car" at present. At the same time, Pirelli's Paul Hembery is reported as having tipped Rosberg's teammate and Monaco polesitter Michael Schumacher for pole and victory this weekend.
Rosberg added: "I have the feeling that we could win every race." As for the world championship, Rosberg is 21 points adrift leader Lewis Hamilton at present, but the 26-year-old insists: "It (the title) is possible. Yes, Canada was a small step backwards," he said, referring to his fifth on the grid and sixth place finish in Montreal recently.
And some have predicted a similar struggle in Valencia, where the high temperatures are tipped to be a problem for Mercedes' 2012 car, the W03. Does Norbert Haug agree: "No," the German marque's motor sport director insisted. "Nico's pace in Canada with track temperatures of 40 degrees showed that the car can do well in extreme conditions." Rosberg concurred: "We have made huge progress in this regard."
Team boss Ross Brawn also sounded confident, setting a high goal if the Brackley based outfit can cut out reliability and team mistakes. "The opportunities available if we can give both drivers a reliable car and a clean weekend are clear," he said.
Haug, meanwhile, pointed out that if the championship had begun in Shanghai in April, Rosberg would now be leading the drivers' world championship. "The target is to continue that trend," said the German. (GMM)
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