Rosberg: “We have shown that we are at the top”

Nico Rosberg completes a fantastic Saturday for Mercedes: after Schumacher's pole the German places himself in third place, but due to the former Ferrari driver's setback he will start on the front row tomorrow, next to Mark Webber.

However, the Teutonic team was able to bring two drivers into the top three in Monte Carlo and earn the chance, with a good start, to lead the race. “I am satisfied with today's result and above all with what we have shown as a team in recent weeks”, Rosberg explained. “We had a couple of difficult races after the win in China, but we worked hard and today we were on top as a team, it's great to see us up there. I had a fairly easy qualifying session, and we managed to save two new sets of Supersoft tires for the race, but today we were all really close, which is incredible and fantastic for Formula One."

Rosberg rejoices for the pole position of the veteran Schumi, but is also satisfied with his penalty, which projects him to the front row. “Congratulations to Michael, he did a fantastic job. Of course, I feel sorry for him having to serve the penalty, but this means I will be on the front row in Monaco. And in a race where overtaking can be so difficult, this is an excellent starting point.", concluded the son of the great Keke.

Ross Brawn, however, warns of the risk of tire degradation during the race: “It was a great qualifying session and we are obviously happy. Michael will have to serve the five-place penalty, but he was the fastest guy out there today, kudos to him. Nico also did a fantastic job, and fought for pole throughout the session. Having both drivers in the top three shows that the team did a great job this weekend to make the car capable of interpreting the track. But now, we have one more step to take. Last year, we suffered big problems with the tires at the start of the race. This is something we must avoid tomorrow.", explained the Mercedes team principal.

Lorena Bianchi