Rosberg on Spanish GP: 'Suddenly I lacked power'

Nico Rosberg says he was not to blame for a technical issue that contributed to the crash with Lewis Hamilton last Sunday.

After Mercedes team chairman (Niki Lauda) pointed the clear finger of blame at Hamilton, boss Toto Wolff explained that it was German Rosberg who was in "the wrong engine setting".

"That was the reason he was significantly slower than Lewis," Wolff said. "This explains why everything happened so quickly."

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Wrong position

The implication is that Rosberg simply made a technical mistake under the new anti-radio communication regime, but the championship leader denies that.

Rosberg told Bild newspaper on Tuesday (May 18) after testing in Barcelona: "Suddenly I lacked power. The switch for the engine mode was not in the correct position so we need to investigate why that was so."

Rosberg said he even attempted to correct the situation mid-corner "but nothing happened".

As for whether he or Hamilton should take any of the blame, the German did not want to talk about it.

"It felt good to be back in the car (for testing), but Barcelona is finished now and I'm only thinking of Monaco. We go there with confidence but also keeping our minds on Red Bull and Ferrari," Rosberg added.

As for Mercedes' chances in Monaco, he answered: "I'm confident that we will be very competitive there. Clearly I want to get my fourth win in a row."