Rosberg’s title hopes fade after ‘very bad’ DNF at Monza

Nico Rosberg mourned the death of his engine which failed with just two laps remaining in the Italian Grand Prix while pursuing Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for second.

Mercedes spent all of its remaining engine tokens heading into Monza, but for Rosberg it mattered little as the German had to fall back on the old spec engine following issues with the new power unit prior to qualifying on Saturday.

The engine Rosberg was forced to run with had been used in six full race weekends.

“To have it explode two laps to the end was unbelievable, it’s even more disappointing for sure,” said Rosberg. “And I was going to have a good go at Vettel because finally I had the breaks cooling-off to be able to attack and like to ramp up the ERS, the electric power a little bit. So I was gonna really go for it [and] then just in that moment it blows up.

“The whole weekend just went wrong completely, very unlucky I think. Just so many repercussions of this engine issue…it wasn’t even an engine issue, it was actually a chassis issue, that meant we had to change the engine, and then it was a difficult race as a result.”

The 30-year-old spared no thoughts on his title hopes after the race, acknowledging the uphill climb he faces for the remainder of the season.

“Well it’s a fact that it’s taken a massive step in the wrong direction just when I’ve needed to catch up in points,” said Rosberg. “It’s been the biggest loss that I’ve had in one day in the whole season, so that’s very bad.

“But I keep going, giving up doesn’t exist for me, just keep fighting and now I’ll just try and win the next couple of races.”

About Joey Barnes 600 Articles
Joey Barnes is the Founder of Motorsports Tribune, an outlet that began with the goal of helping aspiring journalists break into and grow the industry. A regular on the racing scene since 2013, the journey for Joey started by covering a Grand-Am event at Circuit of The Americas in his home state of Texas. He has since primarily focused on the IndyCar Series, with appearances in the garages of NASCAR, paddocks of Formula 1, IMSA and World Endurance Championship, while also occasionally engulfing clouds of dust at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and select Supercross rounds. With previous stops at Autoweek, IndyCar.com, Motorsport.com and RACER, among others, Joey evolved from the singular task as a freelance writer to advanced roles behind the copy desk and alongside some of the best editorial teams in the business. Recognized as a multi-time award winner by the National Motorsports Press Association, Joey currently resides in Dallas-Fort Worth with his trusty four-legged canine companion, Rocket.

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