- US GP - Qualifying
Rosberg hails perfect Mercedes set-up
Nico Rosberg says the work carried out with his engineers in the lead up to qualifying was crucial as he turned in an impressive performance to claim pole for the United States Grand Prix.
Rosberg finished behind title rival Lewis Hamilton in every practice session in Austin but, after saying on Friday he had extra time "in his pocket", he pulled it out when it mattered in qualifying. The gap to Hamilton in second was three tenths, with Rosberg improving as the session continued, something he puts down to finding the optimum set-up.
"It worked out really well," Rosberg said. "Together with my engineers I really arrived at a car in qualifying that I was really happy with, the balance was good. It was quite a challenge because the wind was changing and this morning the conditions were quite different, a lot colder, so the track was changing all the time and it wasn't that easy to get everything right. In the end we got a great set-up, a great car, so I'm pleased with that. First place today of course is awesome but the race is what counts so I still need to focus fully on tomorrow and try and bring it home."
Hamilton was hampered by brake issues in qualifying, something Rosberg struggled with on Saturday as well, but the German says he is putting the prospect of Mercedes unreliability to the back of his mind for the race.
"We've had a few issues in general on the cars this weekend, on both cars, and we'll try and get them out of the way for tomorrow, but I'm not worried about that at all. I'm confident we can get the job done and I'm going to concentrate on what I can control, which is my driving. It's always frustrating to have something like that, but I've learned to accept it and concentrate on the things that I can influence and just keep on it. That's what I tried to do today and it worked out well."
It was Rosberg's ninth pole position of the season and means he starts from the clean side of the grid, something he admits he needs to take advantage of on Sunday.
"I haven't thought that far yet. If you say it, then yes that's great; another extra advantage from first on the grid. Of course, the start is going to be important and I need to make the most of that and stay ahead."
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