Formula One news

Rosberg disappointed with ninth

Nico Rosberg felt disappointed to qualify ninth on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix, having been third fastest in morning practice and at the top of the timesheets at the end of Friday. Making it into Q3 by just a tenth of a second, the German's Williams starts between the two Ferraris and on row five of the grid.

"That was not a good qualifying from me, as I really didn't feel comfortable in the car today," 23-year-old Rosberg said after the session. "We were just lucky we made it through to the third round because it was very close; in the end, P9 is okay because we have a lot of fuel onboard so, strategy-wise, I think we are looking pretty competitive."

Rosberg's honesty about his fuel load may come as a surprise to some, although there is nothing to hide this year as the FIA now releases data on Saturdays regarding the weights of each car for the start of the Grand Prix, which will be made available on GPUpdate.net. "My hope for tomorrow is definitely to finish in the points and I think that's achievable," Rosberg continued. "Our car is pretty good, so we should have a consistent pace and anything is possible from ninth."

Fastest on Friday and third in Saturday practice, Rosberg will start ninth on the grid

"This result is where we expected to be," admitted technical director Sam Michael, whose other driver - Kazuki Nakajima - starts 12th. "Ninth is a good position from where Nico can target a points-scoring finish tomorrow, and Kazuki did a good job considering he doesn't have the same package that Nico is running," Michael continued. "In conclusion, we will be aiming for points with both cars." The Australian engineer also congratulated engine providers Toyota for taking both front row positions.

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