Nico Rosberg was obviously the moral (and practical) winner within the Mercedes lineup last weekend, as he outscored his 7-time world champion of a teammate in both qualifying and race. Soon after that, he admitted that it was a personal satisfaction of his to at least beat Schumacher, while a little disappointed he didn't make the podium at Sakhir.
However, when interviewed by France's Auto Hebdo on his performance in Bahrain, Schumacher said he is happy for at least being at the same pace - or slightly faster - with his younger teammate.
“I take a little personal satisfaction at being at the same pace as Nico in the race. And I was significantly faster than him in the fastest laps – three hundredths!” joked Schumacher when talking to the French reporters.
Indeed, Schumacher did score a better fastest lap than Rosberg in the race, as both drivers set their best run on Lap 45. However, the 41-year old German's best was only the 11th lap time of the day, while Rosberg's was 13th. Obviously, the majority of the fast laps were scored in the late stages of the race, when the car were running low on fuel. Schumacher's time was almost one second behind Fernando Alonso's.
Talking about Schu's pace, former Ferrari driver Niki Lauda insisted the German will not take long to return to his incredible fast pace in the series.
“I know what I'm talking about. The old feelings need some time before they're automatic again, but you don't forget how to drive. Especially not when you've been at such a high level before,” said Lauda, who himself won a world title after making an F1 comeback from retirement.
Google News