Nico Rosberg beats Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton for pole in Mexico
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Loading... - Havel Romero
- 01 Nov 2020
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Nico Rosberg took his fourth consecutive pole position in qualifying for the Mexico Grand Prix, with signs of tension between him and Lewis Hamilton.
M
ercedes claim that anger inspired Nico Rosberg to his fourth consecutive pole win over team-mate Lewis Hamilton for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Rosberg cut a frustrated figure when he was beaten to the Formula One world championship by Hamilton in Austin last weekend, when he felt the British driver had been too aggressive on the first corner.
When Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff was asked to explain Rosberg’s qualifying pace here he replied: “Anger.” But this was denied by Rosberg, who is now the only driver to have won 20 poles without a world title to his name.
He said: “No, definitely not. No difference, just attack like always. I’m not angry, that wouldn’t be the approach. I just get my head down and keep going. Three more races to go, business as usual. Full attack, as always. I have felt good all weekend We have found a great balance in the car.”
Hamilton won 11 of the first 12 poles of the season but has not come top since the Italian Grand Prix almost two months ago. But he looked unworried when he said: “There were a couple of moments when the car felt spectacular, but there are a few places I could improve. I am quite happy with my spot and the races have always proven to be quite good ones for me, so I am excited for tomorrow.”
Rosberg had beaten Hamilton by just 0.014s in the final practice session three hours earlier, when there were more signs of tension between the two drivers.
Hamilton complained on the radio that Rosberg was “backing me up” but was told by his engineer that there was plenty of space. Hamilton will be second on the grid, Mercedes’ 13th front row lock-out of the season, and they will be followed by Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari and the Red Bull pair of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.
There was a good battle between the Mercedes men but Rosberg always had the edge in the final session and the two shook hands at the end. Hamilton was out first but locked up and allowed the German to take the advantage. Hamilton improved next time round, but so did Rosberg, who won the contest by 0.188s.
Meanwhile it was yet another awful day for McLaren. Fernando Alonso failed to make it to Q2 and Jenson Button didn’t even take part in qualifying after complaining about engine vibrations at low revs. The Briton said: “It’s been a very limited running weekend. We can’t complain. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.”
ercedes claim that anger inspired Nico Rosberg to his fourth consecutive pole win over team-mate Lewis Hamilton for Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Rosberg cut a frustrated figure when he was beaten to the Formula One world championship by Hamilton in Austin last weekend, when he felt the British driver had been too aggressive on the first corner.
When Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff was asked to explain Rosberg’s qualifying pace here he replied: “Anger.” But this was denied by Rosberg, who is now the only driver to have won 20 poles without a world title to his name.
He said: “No, definitely not. No difference, just attack like always. I’m not angry, that wouldn’t be the approach. I just get my head down and keep going. Three more races to go, business as usual. Full attack, as always. I have felt good all weekend We have found a great balance in the car.”
Hamilton won 11 of the first 12 poles of the season but has not come top since the Italian Grand Prix almost two months ago. But he looked unworried when he said: “There were a couple of moments when the car felt spectacular, but there are a few places I could improve. I am quite happy with my spot and the races have always proven to be quite good ones for me, so I am excited for tomorrow.”
Rosberg had beaten Hamilton by just 0.014s in the final practice session three hours earlier, when there were more signs of tension between the two drivers.
Hamilton complained on the radio that Rosberg was “backing me up” but was told by his engineer that there was plenty of space. Hamilton will be second on the grid, Mercedes’ 13th front row lock-out of the season, and they will be followed by Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari and the Red Bull pair of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.
There was a good battle between the Mercedes men but Rosberg always had the edge in the final session and the two shook hands at the end. Hamilton was out first but locked up and allowed the German to take the advantage. Hamilton improved next time round, but so did Rosberg, who won the contest by 0.188s.
Meanwhile it was yet another awful day for McLaren. Fernando Alonso failed to make it to Q2 and Jenson Button didn’t even take part in qualifying after complaining about engine vibrations at low revs. The Briton said: “It’s been a very limited running weekend. We can’t complain. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.”
