Rosberg cut a downcast figure on the Sunday night in Singapore, after his race
effectively ended before it began due to an electrical failure with the
steering column.
“I said at the time that Sunday in Singapore was probably the toughest
moment of my year so far and, looking back on it, I still think that is true,”
the German said.
“To have the chance for a top result basically taken away before you
even reach the grid is hard to swallow and, of course, it was a lot of
points lost in the Championship battle. I can’t fault the effort of the
team, though.
“I go to the factory and I see how hard everyone is working, so it’s
clear that they want the results just as much as us drivers do. I have faith
in my colleagues to improve our reliability and I know they will get it
right.”
Paddy Lowe, the Mercedes
technical boss, said the team are “redoubling their efforts” to
sort out their car’s reliability gremlins, without which the team could have
already won the constructors’ crown.
The next venue for Hamilton and Rosberg’s duel is the legendary Suzuka
circuit, the site of so many famous races. Out of the last 19 races held
here, 18 have been won by world champions, which highlights just how testing
a venue it is. Suzuka is also where Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost memorably
shared title-deciding collisions in 1989 and 1990.