First taste of success

Its been the perfect weekend8230;it couldnt be better, declared the 102nd driver and seventh German to win a grand prix since the championship started in 1950. Rosberg,whose Finnish father Keke won the 1982 world championship with Williams,let out a yell of jubilation almost as long as the pit straight as he crossed the line to deliver the first win for a Mercedes works team since 1955. Brilliant race,Nico. Just brilliant, yelled team principal Ross Brawn over the radio.

Hamilton now has 45 points to Buttons 43. Ferraris Fernando Alonso,the double champion who had led before Shanghai,finished ninth and dropped to third overall with 37. McLaren lead the constructors standings with 88 points to Red Bulls 64.

Leading from the front

Hamilton,a friend and former team mate of Rosberg before entering Formula One,was quick to congratulate his Monaco neighbour after a race won by the German without a single overtaking move. We knew all weekend they had been quick and if we let these people get away it would be hard to catch him,so fantastic for him,congratulations, he said.

The last Mercedes works team driver to stand on top of the podium was Argentinas five-times champion Juan Manuel Fangio when he won the Italian Grand Prix from pole. Mercedes pulled out of Formula One in 1955 and did not return,other than as a successful engine partner,until 2010 after buying Brawn GP.

Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug,who embraced Rosberg almost as soon as the driver stepped out of the car,joined his driver on the podium and was drenched in champagne with the eager assistance of Button and Hamilton. Amid the jubilation,there was disappointment for Rosbergs team mate and compatriot Michael Schumacher who had also started on the front row but became the sole retirement of the race when he pulled off on lap 13 with a wheel problem.

Schumacher had hoped for a first podium appearance since winning his last race at Shanghai in 2006 but a botched pitstop put paid to that. To the despair of the mechanic on the front right wheel,Schumacher was given the signal to go before the nut was attached properly. The front wheel got a bit loose,but I dont know what happened. I feel a bit sorry for one of my boys,but thats part of the game, said Schumacher philosophically.

Button had looked like catching Rosberg in a grandstand finale but a problem with his cars rear left cost vital seconds,leaving him stuck in traffic at a crucial point and unable to get enough heat into his tyres to close the distance. Rosberg lapped at a steady pace as behind him a pack of cars jostled and scrapped wheel to wheel for points,with Finlands 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen running in second place for Lotus before fading nine laps from the end with heavy tyre wear.

Red Bulls Australian Mark Webber won a battle for fourth with world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel despite a moment when his car hit a kerb and reared up with both front wheels off the ground. Vettel went from second to fifth in the closing laps after starting 11th in his lowest grid placing since 2009.

Frenchman Romain Grosjean took his first points in Formula One with sixth place for Lotus,after retiring in the two previous races,ahead of the Williams cars of Brazilian Bruno Senna and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado. Saubers Japanese Kamui Kobayashi,who had started third,took the final point for Sauber in 10th. There were once again no points for Ferraris Brazilian Felipe Massa,who led briefly in the pitstops but finished 13th.

No points for Force India

Sahara Force India missed out on points for the first time this season with Paul di Resta finishing 12th and Nico Hulkenberg ending 15th. It was difficult for both drivers since their position on the grid was not that good. Paul had started 15th on the grid,just ahead of Hulkenberg.

It was an extremely close race and although we were able to keep ourselves in the hunt,we were just missing the pace to catch people and make up any more ground. So it was a bit like the race in Australia where there were lots of cars running very close to each other and a lot of guys nursing their tyres. I think we made some good calls with the tyres and there were lots of different strategies playing out around us, Di Resta said.