The Mercedes driver had earned his first pole position in qualifying on Saturday and fended off challenges by McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third respectively.

World champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany ended the race in 5th place, after starting 11th, losing ground in the closing laps due to bad tires. Button, Hamilton, and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber for Red Bull, who came in 4th, prevented a German one-two finish.

Rosberg's victory was the first by Mercedes as a works team since 1955 when Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won the Italian Grand Prix from the pole.

Rosberg took Sunday's race by a massive 20.6 seconds after making just two pit stops and holding off the rest of the field on his worn tires.

The big loser of the day was Rosberg's Mercedes teammate and fellow German, Michael Schumacher. who started the race next to pole in the first row. But on Lap 14, Schumacher appeared to have been given the all-clear from a pit stop before one of his wheels was properly fastened. The seven-time world champion was forced to stop shortly afterward, ending any chance of winning his first race since coming out of retirement in 2010.

gb/sej (AFP, AP, Reuters)