adminNICO ROSBERG dominated the European Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton struggled to fifth place. Rosberg led from the first corner and drove off into the distance as Hamilton struggled to make up ground in the inaugural race in Azerbaijan. The world champion started 10th and was hampered by a problem with an engine setting during the race.
The world champion dropped to 24 points adrift of Rosberg in the championship as a result. Hamilton said he had an “off day” in qualifying and Mercedes were at a loss to understand what happened. But in the race it was different.
After a cautious start, Hamilton began to make up ground, picking up positions until he was fourth, right behind Force India’s Sergio Perez after 11 laps – helped by an early stop for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
But Hamilton could not pass the slippery Force India and began to run into vibration problems from the tyres, which he had damaged in qualifying. Mercedes tried to pass Perez by stopping earlier but Force India thwarted them by bringing in the Mexican the next lap.
After the pit stop, Hamilton tried to pass Perez again but then began to drop back. It emerged from communication between driver and team that there was a problem with an engine setting – but the team radio restrictions meant the team could not tell him what was wrong or how to fix it.
It is not yet completely clear what had happened – although the team said it was “a problem with the setting you’re in” but that “it’s not something you’ve done – it’s a setting that’s incorrect”.
Hamilton was clearly frustrated but with 10 laps to go he finally made a change that solved the problem. He briefly set the fastest first sector time of the race, but then did not speed up and cruised slowly to the finish behind Perez.
Both drivers had the same problem at times during the race. “Nico had made a change during the race that caused the issue,” said a Mercedes spokesperson. “So when told it was an issue with the mode, as permitted by FIA, he switched back out of it.
“Lewis had the setting from start of race and it was not obvious that this setting was causing the problem. The fundamental problem is on our heads as it was a configuration not working properly, not the driver’s fault. — BBC Sport
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