Nico Rosberg insists "nothing has changed" in his battle with Lewis Hamilton despite taking control of the championship with an impressive display at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Rosberg has moved eight points clear of Hamilton with just six rounds remaining after holding off a late challenge from Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to seal his eighth win of the season, while his Mercedes team-mate could manage only third.
It marked a dominant weekend for Rosberg, who was a mammoth seven tenths of a second faster than his Mercedes team-mate in qualifying, before converting his pole position at the Marina Bay street circuit into a hat-trick of consecutive victories.
After falling 19 points behind Hamilton heading into the summer break, Rosberg, who was celebrating his 200th grand prix start on Sunday, is now back in control of the title race.
Yet Rosberg, despite turning in one of the most crushing displays of his recent rivalry with Hamilton, was quick to downplay his chances of securing a maiden championship.
"I had a great weekend again, but nothing has changed as my team-mate is still Lewis," Rosberg, who became the first non-champion to win in Singapore, said.
"Lewis is always going to be very difficult to beat, and very fast. He always comes back strong even after a difficult weekend so it will be a battle all the way as always.
"I'm just happy to win the race because that is what I came here to do. And now I'm going to celebrate after this. I can't wait to get home."
Hamilton won six of the seven rounds heading into the sport's annual summer break. But as he holidayed in Costa Rica, Barbados and the United States, Rosberg spent the three-week shutdown with his wife Vivian and their one-year-old daughter Alaia. Rosberg has won the three races since and led virtually every lap.
Hamilton dismissed the notion that he would have done anything differently over the summer, instead paying tribute to his championship rival.
''Nico just did an exceptional job this weekend and we didn't,'' Hamilton said. "What it's going to take for the momentum to change? Just some good weekends which we've had in the past.
"We've come from 43 points down so theoretically eight points isn't anywhere near as steep as that but still, Nico's been performing fantastically well. I expect him to continue like that so I've got to make sure that I do the same."
Source: PA
