'Exceptional' Nico Rosberg bouncing back - Mercedes F1 boss Wolff

Under pressure following a string of defeats by team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg put in an aggressive performance at Sakhir.

The German lost third place to Kimi Raikkonen at the start, but snatched the position back before passing the other Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel for second.

Rosberg was twice repassed by Vettel, who used the undercut, during the pitstops, but reclaimed second each time with a pass on track.

He ultimately fell back to third behind Raikkonen on the penultimate lap after his brake-by-wire system failed.

"Anyone who doubted Nico saw Nico at his best fighting hard, overtaking," said Wolff. "He did everything right.

"Losing that position because of a brake failure is a pity.

"Without that, I think he was driving so well that he would have kept the Ferrari behind - but he had no weapons to defend."

Rosberg, who has finished behind Hamilton in each of this season's four races, trails his team-mate by 27 points in the drivers' standings.

Wolff said Rosberg is still very much in the title hunt but pinpointed qualifying as an area to improve.

"Qualify on pole and control the race from there," said Wolff, when asked what Rosberg needed to do to get back on terms with Hamilton.

"You saw Lewis qualify on pole and run away and be in control of the race [in Bahrain], similar to what we had in China, is key to scoring maximum points.

"It's four races into the season, there's another 15 left - which is quite a lot.

"So I have no doubt after his driving in Bahrain, which was exceptional, we'll have a very strong Nico bouncing back next time."

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: