It means Rosberg, who secured his seventh win of the season and 21st of his career, now trails Hamilton by just two points in the drivers’ championship with seven races remaining.
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Rosberg raced past the chequered flag 15 seconds clear of Hamilton and took his season tally to 248, two points behind the leader.
“As I said yesterday, when we were practicing for the race on Friday I was looking really strong”.
The British driver’s awful start was very surprising considering the brilliant display all through the practice sessions which saw him claim pole and led to Rosberg admitting there wasn’t nothing he could have done to beat his rival on Friday and Saturday.
Hamilton’s trouble off the line saw him gobbled up by Rosberg, the Ferrari pair of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Hamilton said: “We have been smashing the weekends, been quickest, dominant all weekend and then less than a tenth of a second decided the race”.
Ricciardo, an Australian of Italian heritage, produced the passing move of the day when he swept past Bottas at the first chicane to seize fifth in the closing laps – and then waved his fist in glee. I had an awesome start and that made the win.
But a poor opening to the race, after a similar start cost the world champion probable victories at the opening two rounds in Australia and Bahrain, was to prove damaging on Sunday. They are doing a very good job, so you have to say “well done” and show them the respect for what the achieved in the last couple of years, but we’re fighting.
“The only thing I heard was in the race he (Hamilton) said “Don’t worry guys I got it wrong in the start”, said the Austrian.
Second place came about when Ferrari elected to keep to a two-stop strategy, enabling Hamilton to pass while both Vettel and Raikkonen were in the pits.
“We think we have made progress, but 1.8 seconds is not going to be easy to improve”. Hamilton retired with a mechanical failure, while Rosberg could finish only fourth.
“Last year was hard, and we’re hoping this year is not going to be the same”, added Hamilton. “Force India was amongst the points as Sergio Perez came in 8th, Williams” Felipe Massa 9th and the other Force India driven by Nico Hulkenberg came in 10th.
Ricciardo’s team-mate Max Verstappen was next up in seventh, recovering after slipping to P11 at the start after his vehicle went into anti-stall.
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Vettel completed the podium, while Jenson Button – in what could be the start of his farewell tour after he announced he will not be racing next year – finished 12th.
