• Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying

New tyres easing Mercedes' issues - Rosberg

Nico Rosberg: "Definitely the situation should be a little bit better than the Nurburgring" © Sutton Images

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Nico Rosberg is optimistic the new tyre constructions at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix have aided Mercedes' degradation issues.

After several blowouts at the British Grand Prix, Pirelli decided to revert to its 2012 construction this weekend while sticking with the 2013 compounds. Most teams have reported more consistent performance from the new tyres, which should help Mercedes issues, but the team was banned from the Silverstone test last week so has been on the back foot this weekend.

However, after three practice sessions and a qualifying hour, Rosberg is hopeful of an improvement.

"It looks like it for now, that was the tendency [on Friday]," he said. "Definitely the situation should be a little bit better than the Nurburgring. The Nurburgring was quite tough and we must improve from there, but still it's going to be a big challenge against teams like Lotus, Red Bull and even Ferrari."

Rosberg will start from fourth on the grid while team-mate Lewis Hamilton starts from pole position.

"Our speed was a bit of a surprise today as the car set-up work was focused on good race pace this weekend," Rosberg added. "But it worked quite well in the hot temperatures. It's great for the team to be starting from fourth and pole position. I hope we can have a good start even though I'm on the dirtier side of the grid.

"Qualifying did not go perfectly for me at the end, it didn't help that my brake balance adjuster got stuck, so I couldn't change it around the lap. That cost me a little, but the pole wasn't possible today. Now we look forward to tomorrow and I'm confident that we look better in the hot conditions than in the previous race."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.