Rosberg wins in Baku
June 19, 2016
Nico Rosberg led from pole to flag in the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix to extend his lead at the top of the drivers' championship to 24 points.
The Mercedes driver followed up a flawless qualifying session on Saturday with an emphatic drive to end a run of three races without a podium place.
"It has been an amazing day and an amazing weekend - it has been spectacular," Rosberg said after the race. "You created a great track; it was really exciting racing. Qualifying went all to plan. It was awesome. No concerns, we went flat out."
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished just under 16.6 seconds behind Rosberg in second, his second consecutive runner-up place. Force India driver Sergio Perez finished third partly due to Kimi Raikkonen's five-second penalty for crossing the pit-lane entry line.
With victory, the German has reasserted his dominance over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings, with the Briton finishing fifth after experiencing technical problems throughout the race. After winning the first four races, Rosberg had missed the podium in Spain, Monaco and Canada, allowing Hamilton right back into the championship race.
dv/rd (AP, dpa)