Nico Rosberg admits Lewis Hamilton’s grid penalty allowed him to control the Belgian Grand Prix from the front after he cruised to victory at Spa-Francorchamps.
Rosberg enjoyed a good getaway, having relinquished pole position at the two previous races, and was able to open up an early lead as Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen came together at the first corner.
The German was dominant thereafter, with Daniel Ricciardo unable to offer a serious challenge, and has moved to within nine points of team-mate Hamilton heading to Monza.
The start of the race perhaps represented the best opportunity to overhaul the Mercedes driver, and Rosberg concedes it was virtually plain-sailing after his rivals’ troubles.
“In the race, at the start, of course there’s always pressure,” he said on the podium. “Daniel was quite quick at the start of the second stint but I had everything under control. Lewis wasn’t there [fighting for the win] so it made it less difficult, but I’m pleased of course.”
Asked if he had expected to gain more ground in the title fight, he replied: “I’m happy with today, happy to have won the race, that’s it, third place for Lewis, he did a great job.”
Although Hamilton did manage to retain his championship lead, victory nevertheless represents a big boost for Rosberg, ending a four-race drought stretching back to the European GP in June.
