Nico Rosberg isn’t giving up on winning the championship this season, despite an ever widening gap between him and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Briton managed to claim a further seven points over Rosberg in Japan after overtaking his team-mate at the start of the race.
Now, with just five races remaining, Hamilton sits atop the table with a 48 point advantage to Rosberg – almost two race wins – but that hasn’t put the German off and he insists it’s game on.
“Once I got back from Japan, I was able to focus on the positive elements from my weekend in Suzuka: pole position, the on-track pass on [Valtteri] Bottas and then having the speed to undercut [Sebastian] Vettel’s Ferrari at the second pit-stop,” he said.
“I’m not backing down in my fight for the championship and gaining those positions back fair and square showed that.”
At the same point in the season last year, Rosberg sat just three points behind Hamilton with five races remaining, this season the gap is 48 points, but the size of the task at hand doesn’t scare Rosberg.
“We have five races to go and, although the championship gap to Lewis is quite big, in my mind it’s definitely not over yet.
“The way the whole team has performed this year – from the factories to the garage – has been just incredible and I have the car I need to get back to the top step.
“I really enjoyed our first trip to Russia last year and it was an awesome weekend for the team – one that I will always remember after seeing all the hard work they’ve put in during my time here.
“So, I’m aiming to put all those tools they’ve given me to good use and bring home a top result.”
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