Rosberg sets 2nd consecutive DHL Fastest Lap in hard podium charge

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg raced his second consecutive DHL Fastest Lap in a hard charge through the field in a dramatic Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps that saw the German collide with with teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Click play above to watch cockpit footage of Nico Rosbergís Fastest Lap and DHLís F1 Expert and former F1 driver Christian Danner telling the story behind it.

After setting the fastest Fastest Lap since 1996 in qualifying - 1.902 seconds faster than the next best - it should have been smooth sailing for Nico Rosberg in the Silver Arrow. Both Mercedes blew away the competition and Nico's Fastest Lap in qualifying was the fastest since Michael Schumacher lapped 2.218s faster than the field at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix. 

But it wasn't to be. The already exhaustively discussed scenes saw Rosberg's front wing clip Hamilton's left-rear tire in the second lap. The crash effectively ended the Brit's race while the German needed to replace his front wing, which dropped him back the pack.

"That was a tough race." (Nico Rosberg)

"That was a tough race," said Rosberg afterward. "We had the pace to win today but the incident cost us a top result."

A hard charge
But the current Drivers' and DHL Fastest Lap table leader didn't give up, battling in the upper midfield for a chance at the podium. Replacing the front wing caused Mercedes to switch from a two-pit to a three-pit strategy, which landed Rosberg 20 seconds behind Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull with just eight laps to go. 

"The key element was that he had to catch up big time toward the end of the race." (Christian Danner)

That's when Nico turned on the after burners and demonstrated his Silver Arrow's pace, lapping almost two seconds faster than anyone else and setting the day's DHL Fastest Lap in 1:50.511 in lap 36. But he simply ran out of laps and was unable to catch Ricciardo.

The standings
Rosbergís hard charge nets him his 5th DHL Fastest Lap of the season, putting him two ahead of Hamilton. 

"Racing is still on," says Danner, as the two Silver Arrows continue to battle it out, with Rosberg at 220 and Hamilton at 191 points. "One thing"s for sure," says Danner, "the World Champion this year will be a Mercedes."

See all Dannerís Fastest Lap Tips and Reviews!
Christian Danner shares the Fastest Lap story with us each week and you can have a look back at his past picks and reviews at any time on DHL's YouTube channel.

Before and after each Grand Prix this season, Christian Danner offers up his pick for the DHL Fastest Lap and then reviews that perfect lap after the race. "One thing that is so cool about the fastest lap," says Danner, "is that there"s always a story behind the story." Click here to keep pace with what is happening in Formula 1 and DHL Motorsports on DHL InMotion - events that will move you!