On account of his return since Formula One roared back into action at last month’s Belgian Grand Prix, rumours of Nico Rosberg’s impending doom have been greatly exaggerated.
The German was fortuitous to enjoy an uninhibited run to the chequered flag in the Ardennes forest at the expense of teammate and title rival, Lewis Hamilton, though he extracted maximum points at a time when another setback had the potential to send his erstwhile imperious campaign into terminal decline.
Rosberg would shamelessly have preferred that Hamilton hadn’t claimed third, yet the urgent necessity to arrest the slide which had been gaining traction since Monaco and expedited by his final lap malaise at Austria superseded this notion.
If the 31-year old was handed victory on a platter at Belgium, there was no rider attached to his unforeseen triumph a week later at Monza. The Italian Grand Prix has been a Hamilton stronghold in recent years, and qualifying provided no reason to suspect otherwise.
That Hamilton fluffed his start was academic, for it was a vintage Rosberg performance thereafter. The German is so frequently peerless when the faintest hint of momentum is in his corner, especially when it has been squandered by his teammate , Sunday was no exception.
Seven victories to Hamilton’s six is testament to Rosberg’s ability to accumulate success without consideration by many to be a legitimate contender, when the reality is that the circumstances in which they are achieved is inconsequential, and in the context of the Mercedes juggernaut, that victories are mandatory if titles are to be claimed.
It is ironic that the next stop on the calendar, as the circus returns to the road for the final third of the season, which arguably represents the sole remaining opportunity for an outsider to stand atop the podium, at Singapore, that the pendulum could swing decisively in either protagonist’s favour.
Twelve months ago, it was Ferrari, and on this occasion looms Red Bull, awaiting a deficiency to surface on the ostensibly bulletproof Aldo Costa-designed machinery, seldom witnessed since the hybrid era commenced in 2014. The W06 floundered around the streets, unable to optimise its’ rubber despite prolonged track time, with both drivers consigned to the third row of the grid.
Despite issues which threatened to end Rosberg’s race before the lights went out, it was the German who fought home to claim fourth, while Hamilton failed to finish for the first time in over twelve months.
A similar outcome this edition, at Rosberg’s 200th Grand Prix, would restore the 31-year-old’s lead in the standings at a juncture in the campaign when most subsequent champions have assumed the lead and proceeded to close the deal at following events.
The German squandered a 43-point lead following the cataclysmic Spanish Grand Prix. His racecraft in close quarters, particularly against Hamilton on the rare occasions the pair have shared the same piece of tarmac leaves much to be desired, though if he can harness the hunting, offensive mentality which served him effectively at Barcelona, he might get lucky.
He’s pulled the hard yards to nullify the deficit, now is the moment for Rosberg to follow through. On the basis of the past two events, he’s in contention for the title and it stands to reason that he was never out of it.
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