Rosberg and Hamilton relatively calm at Mercedes
For the first time this season, there will be no Mercedes in pole position at the start of the race tomorrow, not even on the front row! Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are putting the poor performance into perspective. They trust in the superiority of their car under race conditions.
The series stops at seven. After the end of the winning streak in Canada, it’s now the turn of pole positions. Who would have thought? The star brand seemed invincible and well on its way to expanding its record with all the wins and pole positions this season. Since Canada, the invulnerability is crumbling.
The Williams took full advantage today by locking out the front row on the grid. Third-place Nico Rosberg is not calling it a disaster, though. « Sure, it’s a disadvantage to start third. The Williams have the same engine as us, and thus the same top speed. But I’m confident. I have good settings for the race. » He believes that Mercedes still holds the advantage, but it’s less significant than usual. « Maybe Williams focused more on qualifying than we did. But for sure, they are doing a good job. »
Hamilton refutes any pressure
At the end of Q3, Lewis Hamilton made a big mistake that prevented him from setting any fast laps during this session. “I braked way too hard,” he admits. He will therefore start from ninth place on the grid. This is the second weekend in a row he’s made a small error in the third part of qualifying. But he rejects any notion of pressure. “My laps have been good all weekend, I just made a few mistakes at the wrong time.” He now expects an attacking race tomorrow. “Even from ninth, I’m going to try to win. We’ll see what the best strategy will be.”
From our special correspondent in Austria
