Nico Rosberg aims to continue his winning streak at the Chinese Grand Prix where he once earned his first career top spot, with the prospect of finally upstaging Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in one major Formula One statistic.
Briton Hamilton has more world titles (3-0), more race wins (43-16) and more pole positions (51-22) than his German rival.
But if Rosberg wins on the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday he will have won six races in a row, moving ahead of Hamilton whose best run is five successive victories in 2014.
Rosberg would join compatriot Michael Schumacher (2000/2001) in fourth place overall with half a dozen wins. Schumacher (2004) and Alberto Ascari (1952/1953) have also won seven straight races while Sebastian Vettel leads the way with a staggering nine victories in a row from 2013.
Rosberg topped the last three 2015 races after Hamilton clinched the title in late October, and carried the momentum into 2016 with first place in Australia and Bahrain which showed that he no longer wants to play second fiddle.
The results have boosted Rosberg’s confidence, and further success in China would add to the momentum although nothing is decided yet in the 21-race campaign—with Rosberg a mere 17 points ahead of Hamilton.
“It’s great to start the season in such a positive way. But I’m just taking things step by step, race by race and targeting a lot more wins to come. It’s important to enjoy times like these,” he said.
“I’m going to China now knowing I can fight for the win ... Shanghai is a track with good memories for me. I took my first pole and win there back in 2012, so I head into this weekend on a massive high.”
Rosberg at least partly profited from good getaways in the first two races as the pole sitter Hamilton had problems on each occasion and had to play catch-up, coming second in Australia and third in Bahrain, after being hit by the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton will face another recovery mission in Shanghai because he has to take a five-place grid penalty over a gearbox change.
Hamilton said earlier he hopes for “the turning point” in Shanghai where he has won a record four times, and insists he is not intimidated by Rosberg’s strong start into the season.
“If you can have two bad races and still come away with two podiums, that bodes pretty well. I’ve come back from worse, that’s for sure!” he said. “There are no real flaws in our procedure and how we’re working, so I know it’s going to come good.
“On a personal level too, I’m in the best place I’ve ever been psychologically. There’s very little, if anything at all, that can penetrate that. There’s a long, long way to go, so I’ll just keep working as hard as I have been.”
Mercedes are tipped to dominate again but Rosberg warned that “We haven’t seen the real Ferrari yet” although Vettel came third in Australia and Kimi Raikkonen second in Bahrain.
The Scuderia will hope to get both cars to the finish line for the first time in 2016 after
Raikkonen went out in Australia and Vettel’s Bahrain race ended before it started—in the formation lap.
Ex-champion Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, was provisionally cleared by doctors to race again after they vetoed the participation of the McLaren driver in Bahrain in the wake of a heavy crash in Australia.
The former world champion will have to undergo another check after today’s first practice for the final go-ahead.
“Back to the car… 26 days of resting initially and hard work until now. Thank you all for the support, also to my family, doctors, trainers and close friends. Now let’s do it!” Alonso said on Instagram.
Tomorrow’s Qualifying will meanwhile see the return to the 2015 format after a change to an elimination format in the first two races generated little excitement and prompted criticism from teams and drivers.