Rosberg takes aim at Mercedes teammate Hamilton

JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — While Lewis Hamilton keeps an eye on Red Bull, teammate Nico Rosberg will be taking aim at his Mercedes teammate at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Rosberg leads Hamilton in the standings by four points. They have dominated Formula One with four wins in as many races heading into Sunday’s event.

But Hamilton has forced Rosberg to settle for second place en route to sweeping the last three races.

“The result momentum is on his side and I need to turn that around,” Rosberg said. “I am here to win in Barcelona, and try and extend the lead in the championship.”

Hamilton, however, said he was staying focused on making sure the other leading teams didn’t make up the gap on the Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya.

“It depends on what steps they make, but Red Bull is in the back of my mind,” Hamilton said. “They have a car with more downforce than us and that is good for this circuit.”

The British driver added Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has “shown pace” with his third-place finish at the last race in China.

Hamilton and Rosberg agreed that the track could help other teams make headway because of its single long straightway, which will limit their ability to speed away.

“I also expect people to be a bit closer here,” Rosberg said. “They have had time to develop, and engine power is not as important as in China.”

Rosberg and Hamilton have been dueling since their days driving carts as youngsters, and their Silver Arrows have provided the most compelling competition this season as the rest of the field hasn’t mustered the same pace to keep up.

Even so, Rosberg insisted there was no feuding between them, while Hamilton said they were both helping the team’s engineers design a front-running car.

“We are very similar drivers, which is a good thing since we are pushing the car in the same direction,” Hamilton said. “If I wanted to go one way and he another, it would make it difficult.”