Brundle thinks Rosberg has what it takes to be world champion
Monday 19 September 2016 08:00, UK
Lewis Hamilton is on the back foot in the title race after losing the lead in the drivers' standings in Singapore, according to Martin Brundle.
Nico Rosberg's third straight victory since the summer break sent him eight points clear of his Mercedes team-mate, who had to settle for third on Sunday behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
And Brundle says he's starting to believe Rosberg has what it takes to beat three-time world champion Hamilton in 2016, whether or not the German believes he can himself.
"I dont know whether he believes it or not, it's so difficult to drill down with Nico," Brundle told Sky Sports F1 after the race. "He keeps defaulting to 'Lewis is the world champion, he is the man to beat'.
"Do I think he can win the world championship? I'm increasingly thinking so, yes. His qualifying is good and if he gets off the line his race craft seems fine. Yes, he wins when he's at the front, but he keeps getting at the front.
"Three on the bounce and 75 points in four weeks, faultlessly. It looks like it's Lewis who is slightly on the back foot.
"Thinking back to Monza, when it all settled out and Lewis' bad start was out of the way, he didn't start catching Nico did he? He didn't have the pace we sometimes see he has in a straight fight, which makes me think he hasn't got quite enough there at the moment."
Hamilton suffered reliability problems again in the early part of the weekend in Singapore, and Damon Hill says the British driver's bad luck has played a part in momentum swinging back towards Rosberg - who was 19 points down on his team-mate during the summer break.
"[Hamilton] has had quite a lot of bad luck this year and he's had to fight his way from the back," Hill told Sky Sports F1. "He's done that and got himself back into the lead of the championship, but now it's swung the other way.
"Whatever happened in Monza, I don't know. He looked totally dominant and how he didn't win that race I don't understand, and then he's come here and had another setback.
"The pendulum is swinging back towards Nico, I think his confidence is so much higher, he's driving to another level to what he has in the past and I think he's a very strong challenger to Lewis, because Lewis' luck is a factor, whatever way you look at it."
Don't miss the F1 Report for all the reaction and analysis from the Singapore GP. F1 technical expert Craig Scarborough joins Natalie Pinkham and Marc Priestley in the studio at 8:30pm on Wednesday on Sky Sports F1.
