Mercedes GP’s German driver Nico Rosberg is mobbed by members of the media yesterday.
Mercedes GP’s German driver Nico Rosberg is mobbed by members of the media yesterday.

Formula One: All roads now lead to home for confident Nico Rosberg



Nico Rosberg, a lifelong resident of Monte Carlo and competing for an England-based racing marque, has already won in Monaco and Silverstone this season.

Now, starting today, the German-born 28 year old is looking to complete a memorable triple crown with victory at the famous Nurburgring circuit near Frankfurt.

It is only five days since Rosberg benefited from his rivals' misfortune to race to victory at the British Grand Prix.

A succession of dramatic, high-speed tyre failures last Sunday led to urgent calls for change.

Pirelli, the official tyre supplier, reacted quickly and has made available a more-durable compound less likely to suffer blow-outs.

Yet, while the introduction of the new interim tyre should ensure drivers will no longer run the risk of having their race compromised by exploding rubber, it could also mean the performance gap between teams could grow larger - which is positive news for Rosberg and Mercedes-GP teammate, Lewis Hamilton.

Recent races have shown that a more conservative tyre favours the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, while marques such as Ferrari, Lotus and Force India have seen their performance negatively impacted. Resultantly, Rosberg is arriving at his third home grand prix of the season in confident mood.

"It's a really nice time in my career at the moment," said Rosberg, who will make his 137th race start on Sunday. "It's new. I've never had a car as quick as it is now, going to every race knowing that I go out there in qualifying and can fight for a position right at the front.

"And then also in the race, the car is getting better and better so the chances are higher to the extent that even on Sunday I can keep my qualifying position.

"It's a really, really nice feeling. Very motivating also."

Rosberg trails compatriot Sebastian Vettel, the three-time world champion, by 50 points after eight races, and such has been the two drivers' level of performance in recent weeks that some are billing this weekend's event as a head-to-head duel.

"I just want to annoy Sebastian and Red Bull a little bit race by race, by being ahead of them and that's the most important thing," Rosberg, who is refusing to consider a title challenge yet, said.

"We're really focusing on getting our momentum, keeping it going as we have at the moment and just concentrating one race to the next. Trying to get the most out of them, just as we have done now in the last couple of races. And then we'll see in a few races time."

Vettel has three wins so far this season and was leading at Silverstone before suffering a gearbox failure with 10 laps to go.

However, as he hunts a 30th career win, he does so knowing he has never won in front of his home supporters.

In fact, as one reporter pointed out to him yesterday, he has never won a race in the month of July.

"I think it is much more important what we have achieved the past four years, and the past three years in particular," he said.

"We've had good races in the past here; always close, but not good enough to win yet.

"Obviously, it's great to come back and especially the last couple of years with more and more people supporting the team, supporting myself. It's great and I really get a feeling of a true home grand prix."

Rosberg's teammate Hamilton suffered heartbreak at his own home race last weekend when the pole-sitter's tyre exploded after just seven laps.

Without a win yet this season, the 2008 world champion is determined to get off the mark soon and appreciates there are few better places to do so than at the de facto home race of Mercedes, the German manufacturers.

"The team have done a fantastic job with the car and we were genuinely competitive at my home race," Hamilton, who won at the Nurburgring the last time F1 raced here in 2011, said. "I'd really like to open my winning account with Mercedes this weekend, and the way the car is now going I have a very good chance of that. "I'll be pushing hard all the way."

Meanwhile, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association has threatened to boycott of this weekend’s German Grand Prix should there be a repeat of the tyre blowouts witnessed at Silverstone.

For this weekend, the belt on the rear tyres is now made of Kevlar – a high-strength synthetic fibre – as opposed to steel.

But following a meeting of the association, chaired by Pedro de la Rosa and with Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button as directors – they released the following statement: “The drivers have decided if similar problems should manifest themselves, we shall immediately withdraw from the event.”

The specs

Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder

Power: 70bhp

Torque: 66Nm

Transmission: four-speed manual

Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000

On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
When is VAR used?

Goals

Penalty decisions

Direct red-card incidents

Mistaken identity

Tu%20Jhoothi%20Main%20Makkaar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELuv%20Ranjan%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Shraddha%20Kapoor%2C%20Anubhav%20Singh%20Bassi%20and%20Dimple%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.