• Austrian GP - Qualifying

'I assume I pressed the brake too hard' - Hamilton

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Lewis Hamilton suspects driver error was to blame for his spin in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix but says he is still targeting a win from ninth on the grid on Sunday.

Hamilton had his first attempt in Q3 deleted when he strayed wide at Turn 8 and then spun on the run up to Turn 2 on his second flying lap. The car snapped out under braking, spinning through 180 degrees into the run-off area, and although the team had not fully investigated the accident at the time, Hamilton suspected he was to blame.

"At the moment we don't know exactly what happened, but I assume I just pressed the brake too hard," he said.

Asked if he was trying too hard now he is 22 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg, who starts from third on Sunday, he added: "I don't think I'm trying too hard, my laps have been pretty good all weekend and I knew I had extra time in my pocket and I pulled it out on my first lap, but obviously didn't finish the lap. The second time round I was just taking the car into unknown territories I guess, but there's a long way to go so don't rule me out yet!"

Hamilton looked quickest up until the spin and he said he has his mind focused on winning Sunday's race.

"Even if I was starting last I'd always be going for the win. Obviously it gets harder and harder the further back we go. All I know is mentally I'm going for the win, but it's damage limitation as well to try and get as many more points onto the board as I can.

"I'm just going to try and have fun, stay out of trouble and just take my time. There's a long, long race tomorrow with different strategies and all sorts of things. It's great to see Williams so fast today and really good for them to have a front row. Sometimes it's just other people's turn, but hopefully tomorrow we will still have a good race with them."

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