Nico Rosberg Q&A: Resurfaced Interlagos still a challenge

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was the fastest man around the newly-resurfaced Interlagos track on Friday, but insisted afterwards that the Sao Paulo circuit remains tough on both drivers and tyres - even if predictions for wet weather mean the latter are unlikely to be a problem come Sunday’s race…

Q: Nico, Friday is rarely the most important day of a race weekend, but is there anything you can take from today?

Nico Rosberg: It was a pretty normal day today. I was nicely fast - and that always makes me feel good. The new tarmac - and after the car and tyres the tarmac is one of the essentials of racing - is completely different than last year, and I am not sure about that.

In the afternoon my tyres blistered and my guess is that should it remain that hot there will be some serious issues. But so far the forecast says it is going to be cooler in the race and then we should be on the safe side.

We gained a lot of data in the morning with temperatures probably similar to those we will have on Sunday, so we will analyse that very carefully.

Q: Brazil is known to be one of the bumpiest tracks. Is that still so with the new tarmac?

NR: It is better. But still it is one of the most difficult tracks, as it is counter-clockwise and that makes a change on your body. I definitely do feel that.

Q: Have you been surprised by the level of grip? The tarmac was laid only two weeks ago…

NR: Yes, I have. It felt a little bit like Sochi. It is very smooth - no holes - and in the end that makes it nice to drive.

Q: You reported understeer - can you explain what that means here?

NR: That was a bit of an issue, also in connection with the new tarmac. It was tricky to find the right balance, so we’ve tried many things and in the end I am pretty satisfied with the result.

Q: You did some long runs that looked pretty promising…

NR: Yes, but as I just said the tyres blistered and under these conditions I am not sure if I would make it to the chequered flag on Sunday.