Rosberg relishes title battle with Hamilton, says every race is a 'cup final'

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has admitted that he is taking each of the remaining Formula One races as a 'cup final' with an aim to prevent his teammate Lewis Hamilton from winning his fourth world championship title.

Hamilton will head into this week's Italian Grand Prix still in charge of the title race after making a sensational comeback from 55-place grid penalty to finish third at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Rosberg, who strolled to his first victory in Belgium and his sixth of the season, still remains nine points behind the Briton,the Guardian reported.

While admitting that he was relishing the F1 title battle with the reigning world champion, Rosberg expressed his pleasure to drive for a team like Mercedes.

The German, who failed to finish last season's race at Monza following an engine failure, further insisted that he was aiming to finish at a much-improved position this time.

Meanwhile, Hamilton expressed his desire to replicate last year's glory in Monza, saying that he was looking forward to race without any penalties and with three new engines.