Nico Rosberg expects this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix to spring a few surprises, and sees Ferrari and Red Bull as Mercedes’ nearest rivals at Marina Bay Circuit.
Since its 2008 inception, F1's night race venue and its long, twisty and narrow layout have often thrown up wild events with Safety Car appearances almost a certainty under the floodlights.
“There could be a couple of surprises here,” said Rosberg. “I’m expecting some possible surprises. Red Bull is a candidate. They could be a surprise here because they were quick in Hungary and even Spa they were quick in the corners. So we will keep an eye on them. Ferrari of course as usual. Those are the main two.”
The German is coming off a disappointing Italian Grand Prix that saw him retire with an engine failure, while Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton romped to victory at Monza.
Despite trailing the Briton by 53 points in the standings, Rosberg refuses to rule himself out of title contention.
“I have the chance, so I keep believing or I don’t, and have chosen to keep believing because it is going to help for the next couple of races and historically also in sport anything can happen.
“So there are still seven races to go and lots of points and so I keep pushing. With the car that we have it is possible to win every race weekend if I do a good job, which is a great feeling. So I focus on the race weekend and see what Lewis does.”
Twelve months ago, Rosberg travelled to Singapore with a 22-point edge over Hamilton but was forced to start from the pit lane due to a faulty wiring loom. The issue ultimately led to his losing the championship lead after he had to retire on Lap 13.
Chris Medland's Singapore Grand Prix preview
2016 F1 driver line-ups so far
Click here for some of the most memorable crashes at Singapore
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