Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg believes that the team could have qualified further ahead than their lowly fourth row starts for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, lamenting tyre and traffic issues during his Q3 qualifying attempt.
Rosberg secured his traditional seventh place on the Abu Dhabi grid, the best of the rest behind the Red Bulls, McLarens and Ferraris.He will line up alongside team mate Michael Schumacher at the start of the race, with the seven-time champion having qualified eighth.
But the younger German admitted after the session that he felt there had still been more pace in the Mercedes package than he had been able to show.
"We didn't quite get the maximum from our qualifying session today which was a shame," Rosberg mused after the session, "The track temperatures dropped during the session and it became more difficult to get the tyres working.
"On my second run in Q3, I had too much traffic in front of me to warm the tyres up sufficiently and that hurt me on the quick lap, otherwise I think we could have been further ahead.
"However I'm on the good side of the grid and it should be a fun race tomorrow."
Schumacher, who just made it through both Q1 and Q2 during the session to end up 8th, added: "It was quite a tight qualifying today.
"I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tyres, and having some fresh tyres left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket."
He added: "I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise.
"The tyres should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behaviour in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race.
"The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tyre temperatures here."
Team boss Ross Brawn suggested that the team was in "good shape" for the Abu Dhabi GP after the qualifying session.
"It was a reasonably straightforward qualifying session for us today with both drivers and the team doing a very good job," he rambled.
"There was a little difference in straightline speed on Michael's car which hampered his pace in relation to Nico so we need to have a look at that and understand why.
"Otherwise we are in good shape for the race and looking forward to tomorrow."
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