Mercedes Benz has said that the pace of its cars in the last F1 race was genuine and that they can now be considered a front running team. Nico Rosberg at one time in the race was in the lead and looked like he would win the race, but there were problems of fuel consumption which led him to back off and therefore lose out on not just an opportunity for a win but also for a podium finish. Norbert Haug the Sports Director of Mercedes has said that he does not mind if there is some sacrifice in the area of fuel consumption as long as the engine has greater power. Peculiar situation this, since Mclaren which also uses Mercedes Benz engines did not have this problem.