Nico Rosberg did his best on Saturday to play down taking pole position for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
“It’s one step in the right direction,” the German said after he claimed the 16th pole of his career in Barcelona with a lap of one minute, 24.681 seconds.
But it is more than just a step. At the least it has stopped the juggernaut that has been his Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Rosberg has been beaten in every qualifying session and race this season by Hamilton, the man who beat him to the 2014 drivers’ title, and the German is 27 points behind in the standings.
With 25 points for a win in F1, Hamilton already has a cushion thanks to having won three of the four races held this season.
With 15 races to go that is far from a decisive gap, but Rosberg had to do something to prevent being put even further in the shade by Hamilton.
On Saturday, Rosberg put in his most impressive performance behind the wheel in 2015, just when he needed it most.
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He had been quickest in final practice, looking fast and assured in comparison to Hamilton, who had a rare spin at Turn 3.
Rosberg’s first timed lap in the final part of the hour-long session proved too good for Hamilton to match, as the double world champion set a time of 1:24.948.
It was what Rosberg needed and it came at a crucial time in a season where track position has been more imperative because of the fragility of the Pirelli tyres.
Having started at the front in the first four races, Hamilton has been able to dictate the pace of those behind him, as Rosberg has found to his frustration.
In Australia Rosberg got within a second of Hamilton but could do nothing to challenge and, in China, he moaned during and after the race about his teammate’s slow speed but was unable to pass as he would not risk overheating his tyres.
If he can convert pole into the lead at the start of the 66-lap race than the boot will be on the other foot and it will be Hamilton who will be stuck behind his teammate.
The Circuit de Catalunya is notoriously tough to overtake on, with 18 of the 24 victories in the F1 races held at the venue claimed by the man who started on pole.
With the Mercedes cars so closely matched on pace, only a mechanical problem would likely derail Rosberg’s hopes of a first win since Brazil in November last year.
Rosberg said he was putting no extra pressure on himself in his approach to today’s race.
“There will be no different mindset for the race,” he said. “It’s the same thing, I try to go for it, go for the best possible result.
“With the car I have it will be to try to go for the win, and take the advantage of starting first.”
Hamilton said of his performance in qualifying: “I didn’t have the pace today and Nico did a great job. I did my best with it and there is still a lot to play for.”
With Hamilton half-a-second quicker than the Ferrari of third-placed Sebastian Vettel, it appears on raw pace to be another private fight for victory between the Mercedes cars.
Vettel, who won in Malaysia in March, did not believe he would be in a position to compete for more than being the best non-Mercedes car today.
“The gap is probably a bit bigger than it was the last couple of races,” said the four-time world champion.
“I don’t think it is down to one thing only because we are struggling a bit more this weekend.”
Vettel had a more enjoyable day than his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who could only qualify seventh, behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and the two Toro Rosso cars of Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen.
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