Rosberg could silence critics with Russian Grand Prix win

I’ll admit it, I’m excited at the prospect of Nico Rosberg leading the championship and actually challenging Lewis Hamilton for the drivers’ title this year.

No, I don’t believe the nonsense that Mercedes is deliberately helping him because he’s German, nor do I think they are levelling the playing field in an attempt to keep him happy.

And I don’t think that makes me a crazy person.

What’s more, Rosberg is fully aware of the threat that Hamilton poses.

“Lewis is still the benchmark for me as he is the current Champion,” said Rosberg. “Ferrari haven’t shown what they can do yet and Red Bull also look like they’re getting stronger, so it’s going to be a good battle and I’m looking forward to that. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Even with an early points lead, the title is Rosberg’s to lose. Historically Lewis has been able to keep Nico at arms length without too much trouble, but after a flawless start to the season the pendulum could be swinging the German’s way. Heading to Russia should give Rosberg a huge confidence boost.

Rosberg qualified two-tenths behind his teammate at the inaugural race here in 2014. Heading into the first corner Nico took the lead for a fraction of a second with a desperate lunge up the inside. However, an epic lock-up meant he had to pit after only one lap and, due to the durable tyre compounds and smooth surface, was able to run until the chequered flag without pitting again and reclaim P2.

With the switch to softer tyres last year we saw more aggressive running, and with an additional choice of compounds available, the chances of having a race ruined by poor tyre strategy vastly diminishes.

In more recent times, Nico has had the edge in Russia.

Last year Rosberg held the advantage in qualifying. This time he was just shy of two-tenths up on Hamilton, and looked to have the race under control until his throttle locked up, making braking close to impossible and, with one hand on the winner’s trophy, he was forced to retire on lap 7.

Hamilton’s defenders argue, with self-righteous indignation, that those in the pro-Rosberg camp are blindly ignorant to the fact that Hamilton hasn’t challenged Rosberg yet.

Well, although both drivers have been slow off the line for a number of races, Rosberg beat Hamilton to the first corner in both Australia and Bahrain. With a clear track in front of him there was no looking back, meanwhile Hamilton suffered various misfortunes that he would have avoided in clear air.

Hamilton was unlucky to start from last position in China. Similarly, Rosberg was unlucky to retire from the lead in Russia last year, scoring no points in a race that would have kept the championship within his grasp.

That’s racing. Championships have literally been decided by much less.

It’s not that I want to see bad things happen to Hamilton, after all, a battle between the Mercedes drivers is looking like our only chance of seeing a fight at the front.

I argue simply that in Russia, Rosberg has his best chance of claiming pole. Even if he doesn’t, based on what we’ve seen so far this year, he’ll feel that he has a shot of taking the lead ahead of the first corner. And even if he doesn’t, he’ll have plenty of soft tyres at his disposal with which to attack whomever is ahead of him.

If he doesn’t, then we’ll know a little more about where this season is headed.