Nico Rosberg said that scoring pole position for the German Grand Prix was particularly satisfying given his early setback in Q3 after an electrical issue that forced Mercedes to fuel him heavily for his final run.
Rosberg and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had exchanged fastest times throughout the week, leading to a showdown for pole in Q3 at Hockenheim.
Rosberg was forced to abandon his first run in Q3 after suffering an electrical issue coming out of Turn 13 that caused his throttle to malfunction.
Mercedes brought Rosberg in and resolved the issue before fuelling him for three laps heading into the final minutes of the session.
Rosberg produced a stunning lap of 1:14.363 to edge out Hamilton, the Briton unable to respond with his final low-fuel qualifying lap.
“It was a great feeling, a great lap,” Rosberg said after qualifying.
“Not only was it just one lap that I had but I also had extra fuel to make sure I had an extra shot if a mistake or something happened, so fuelled for three laps.
“So that’s some more time in the bag there. I was really satisfied with that one, that was cool.”
Rosberg has no concerns about the reliability of his Mercedes W07 Hybrid heading into Sunday’s race despite the electrical issue, and is braced for a close fight with Hamilton and the Red Bull drivers.
“I don’t know what it was. It just suddenly lost the throttle, cut completely the engine,” Rosberg said.
“Just at the end of the lap, so that was disappointing, but I’m sure we’ll fix it for tomorrow.
“It’s never happened before so I’m sure it will be OK.
“Definitely will be an exciting race against Lewis and the Red Bull, and maybe also the Ferraris, but they’re a bit further back it seems.”
The German Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app from 7am ET on Sunday.
