Rosberg: It's a great feeling to return to podium

 

By Adam Leveridge.

Having secured third place in Sunday's Malaysian grand prix, Nico Rosberg said it is a great feeling to be back on the podium again, after a 22-races without success.


In the home race for Mercedes' title sponsor, oil firm Petronas, Rosberg drove cleanly and consistently to finish behind the Red Bull pairing, who secured their first one-two of the 2010 season.

Swift work from the Mercedes pit-crew got the young German out ahead of Robert Kubica in the Renault, who pulled off another surprising performance to finish fourth.

After the race, Rosberg indicated that third place was Mercedes' limit in Malaysia, as he said it was just a case of managing his pace throughout the grand prix, knowing the Red Bulls had a quicker package.

"Its a fantastic result today to achieve our teams first podium," said Rosberg.

"It's a great feeling to be back up on the podium again and to have so much support from the Malaysian fans here.

"My start didn't go that well today as I had a bit too much wheelspin and once I was in third place, I knew it would be difficult to follow the leading cars.

"I struggled a little with the options in the first stint which allowed Robert [Kubica] to stay quite close but once we switched to the primes, I felt really comfortable and we could manage the race home to third place.

"This is a great end to a strong weekend for us.
"We're not quite where we want to be yet so we need to push on but I'm confident that well get there soon."

The result means Rosberg finished ahead of his vastly more experienced team-mate Michael Schumacher, who retired from the Malaysian grand prix when he suffered a problem with his left-rear wheel.

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn praised Rosberg's effort in Malaysia, but was disappointed Schumacher missed out on a points again, this time, because of an unprecedented and unpreventable fault.

"That was an excellent drive from Nico today and a first-class performance to secure his third career podium and the first podium for the Mercedes GP team," said Brawn.

"We are delighted to have achieved the first podium for the Silver Arrows here in Malaysia and to be able to share the rewards of our hard work with our title partner Petronas at their home grand prix.

"My compliments to Nico for an assured performance today and over the weekend.

"Michael was in a good position after the start and we were looking forward to having a good race on his side but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

"The car lost a wheel nut which is a problem that we haven't experienced before.

"The wheel nuts are double-checked on the grid so we will investigate and put in place the necessary solutions."