Nico Rosberg denies becoming pre-occupied with Lewis Hamilton duel

Nico Rosberg is adamant he and Lewis Hamilton have not become pre-occupied with one another, even if his focus in the Hungarian Grand Prix was on his Formula 1 team-mate.

From Mercedes' latest lock-out of the front row for the Hungarian Grand Prix, another slow start off the line and a variety of issues resulted in the team's lowest haul of points from a race - 12 - since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.

With Hamilton sixth and Rosberg eighth, it allowed Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to claim his second win of the season.

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Suggested to Rosberg he and Hamilton were no longer looking at what is going on around them, he replied: "I don't think there's a danger of that, no.

"We're always aware of our opponents, but naturally we are both fighting for the race win, so the focus [in Hungary], yes, was on Lewis.

"But no, [being pre-occupied] is not a danger. Our car is still awesome."

Hamilton's race was undone by not only the start, dropping him to fourth from pole position, but also a lap-one excursion into the gravel that relegated him to 11th.

A collision later in the race with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo necessitated a front-wing change and also earned him a drive-through penalty for causing the incident.

Rosberg struggled on both the soft and medium rubber, while his own clash with Ricciardo a few laps from the finish caused a puncture that ultimately knocked him off the podium.

There is now 21 points between the Mercedes pair, with third-placed Vettel now 42 points adrift of Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - GP of Hungary 2015

Image credit: Daimler AG

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff warned: "We just need to be careful.

"We're 42 points ahead in the drivers' championship, but you can see how quickly it goes when you have a bad day and the car doesn't score good points - boom! You go backwards.

"That is the mentality we have anyway, of always being a bit sceptical about how we are doing, and we received further proof in this race."

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