A weekend to forget for Mercedes

All the talk of Mercedes perhaps going on to win every race in 2014 is over.

The drama between the two battling Mercedes team-mates might have mellowed since the boiling point in Monaco, but the two continued to battle on the track.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton traded blows throughout the weekend, with Rosberg gaining the advantage yet again of pole position.

That gave the German the advantage going into the race and despite a poorer start than Hamilton, Rosberg’s track position allowed him to defend the position going into the first corner.

Hamilton appeared faster than Rosberg, with the German having to break track limits to stay ahead, out-breaking himself going into the final corner.

Despite creating a mini-straight at the end of the lap, extending his lead over Hamilton by almost a second and breaking the lap record at the time, the race stewards refused to penalise Rosberg.

The Formula One championship leader was clearly rattled and despite a mechanical issue for both Mercedes cars, the duo continued to battle hard on track.

Mercedes at this stage were around two-seconds a lap slower than their rivals, but their early race pace had given them about a twenty second lead.

But just as Hamilton gained the advantage over Rosberg he suffered a break issue, ending his race and forcing his second retirement of the season.

‘There was nothing I could do about our issues really. We were managing the loss of power but as soon as I finally made the jump on Nico [Rosberg] in the second pit stop, my brakes failed going into Turn 10. It’s great for the team that Nico was able to hold on and get second place today but it’s tough for me. That’s two DNFs now this season and now I have to try and recover the points gap again.’ Hamilton told formula1.com.

With Rosberg taking 18 points for a second place finish behind winner Daniel Ricciardo [Red Bull Racing], the German now leads the championship by 22 points.

‘The race went smoothly for a while then both cars suddenly lost the MGU-K system and a lot of power which was really tough. Then I lost some time in the second pit stop which let Lewis jump me and I was struggling to cool the rear brakes down so it was all happening. Rosberg said.

He concluded: ‘They are important points for me in the championship, so it was a tough but ultimately good day.