Austin: Nico Rosberg dismissed the notion that he was happy to finish second in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix and stay on course for his maiden drivers’ world title.
The 31-year-old German said he was aware of the championship points position and his clear lead but was not satisfied by finishing second to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
“I wanted to win this race and I want to do it well, but it did not work out that way this time,” said Rosberg.
“But it was Lewis’s weekend this time and he drove well and he was quick all the way. I’m aware of the situation and that I lead by 26 points with three races to go and it’s nice to be in that position.
“I am only going to approach it one way and that is to try and win each race at a time — so I will be aiming to win next week’s race in Mexico.”
If Rosberg wins in Mexico and Hamilton fails to score a point then the German will be crowned world champion for the first time.
Meanwhile, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel said fourth was the best he could do for Ferrari on Sunday.
On another disappointing day for the Italian team, who are without a win this year, his teammate Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish, forced into retirement after a pit-stop blunder that saw him pull up with a loose wheel and then roll backwards into the pit lane.
“We had some issues,” said Raikkonen, who was clearly livid after the incident which wrecked his race.
“The tyre was not on tight 100 per cent. I don’t know why. It was attached somehow, but not properly.”
Raikkonen said he felt as if he had left the pits with a wheel-gun still attached to a wheel.
“It was one of those weekends for us — and it is a pity because the car was pretty good. But I knew something was going on because I saw a lot of sparks and I had to slow down.”
Vettel said: “I think we were better today than on Saturday and we were matching Red Bull for most of the race. It was a decent day, but a shame that we could not both finish. I think P4 was my maximum for today.”
