Mercedes had meant to bring leader Rosberg in after Ricciardo stopped at the end of lap 47, when the German would have completed a 15-lap stint on soft-compound Pirellis, but it abandoned the plan when it became clear the Red Bull driver was likely to jump ahead.
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That’s 22 wins now for Rosberg – 13th on the all-time list Equal with Damon Hill, in fact.
However, Ricciardo’s move to super softs at lap 47 worked well for the driver as he immediately 3 seconds faster than Rosberg in the following laps.
But there was nothing he could do as Kimi Raikkonen took advantage when Hamilton locked up under braking on lap 33. “Once I did my (last) stop, all of a sudden my brakes were under control”.
“The next race will tell”, said a downbeat Hamilton when asked whether the manner of his defeat was a one-off.
“I was struggling with my brakes, they were way overheating, so I just had to slow down”, he said.
Rosberg enjoyed a flawless start to the year, but then ceded the momentum to reigning champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton who grabbed the drivers’ title lead before the mid-season break.
But Wolff said Rosberg and Hamilton were both in the same braking situation, which he put down to a strategic decision rather than a mechanical problem.
The Manor Racing driver had two hard pit stops during the race, which left him well adrift of the pack, with his first stop incorporating a five second time penalty when he was found to have overtaken another driver behind the safety vehicle.
Nico Hulkenberg: “It’s extremely disappointing to end my race in the barrier after just 50 metres, especially because I had made such a good start – probably my best getaway off the line this year”.
The safety auto was immediately out after Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg’s race ended after just a few seconds when he came off worse in a tangle with the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz. Raikkonen made it past Hamilton for second but the Finn also made his stop, and so did Rosberg, leaving the Brit in the lead. Vettel was now in fifth leading Kvyat, Magnussen, Verstappen, Alonso and Perez.
Nico Hulkenberg crashed into the wall as the cars set off from the grid.
“Come on, guys”, Rosberg yelled over the team radio in jubilation.
Sebastian Vettel, who had to start from the back of the grid after mechanical issues to his vehicle in qualifying on Saturday, produced a stellar driver to finished fifth behind his teammate.
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The extra grip from the rubber and the superiority of the Red Bull auto meant Verstappen could pull off an aggressive dive down the inside of Turn Seven with a handful of laps to go.
