Nico Rosberg admitted to pushing too hard during his final qualifying effort at the Red Bull Ring that saw him end up in the gravel trap at the final corner of the lap.
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver was able to stop his car before hitting the barrier, and was lucky that his initial qualifying lap in Austria was enough to see him join team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the front row of the grid. The German driver still feels he has a good opportunity to win the race on Sunday.
“I had to push a lot at the end of my last qualifying lap – but I pushed a bit too much and went over the limit,” revealed Rosberg. “I saw on my screen that I was two tenths quicker than on my previous run and therefore equal to Lewis.
“It was really up to the last few metres to make the pole happen but, at turn eight, I went wide and got a bit on the astroturf which was still wet. I think after that my left tyres were also wet and that made me lose control of the situation. It’s a shame but I still look very much forward to tomorrow.
“It’s a great race here and I still have good chances to win. I will need to have a good start to have a shot at Lewis but I will definitely be keeping the pressure high.”
