Wolff: Rosberg can "bounce back" from title disappointment

Although Rosberg is still within mathematical contention of the world championship, the 73-points gap to Lewis Hamilton with four rounds remaining means only unforeseen dramatic events would result in him coming out on top.

But despite the clear disappointment at the way a recent run of bad luck has derailed his ambitions, Mercedes' motorsport boss sees no reason why Rosberg will not move on quickly for his frustrations.

“They [drivers] have won races and lost races, and won titles and lost titles,” said Wolff about Rosberg's mindset. “The reason why they are here is because they are strong characters and strong personalities.

“And as gutted as he is now, he is going to switch on to 2016 mode and try to bounce back next year.”

Rosberg form

Although retirement from the Russian Grand Prix effectively killed off Rosberg's title hopes, it came on a weekend where the German was perhaps at his strongest all season.

Wolff said there was no obvious explanation for why the German had been able to outpace Hamilton – but said there was little to choose between his two drivers.

“It is very close always between the two of them and you can see that they push each other very much,” he said.

“Lewis had the momentum on his side in the last couple of races, or scored the results, but Russia was Nico's weekend all through the sessions.

“Lap one was strong, just with the right doses of aggression, and I really enjoyed seeing him bounce back like he did.”