Nico Rosberg made it two poles in two races for Mercedes by pipping Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to top spot on Bahrain, but the German concedes that Sunday will be a lot tougher.
He went as far as to say he doubted that the team “had what it takes to win” at the moment.
Rosberg said that pole was nevertheless a huge boost after a difficult first few races.
“It’s great because the start has not been going to plan, with a lot of ups and downs, and quite a lot of issues,” he said. “I’m hoping this is going to kick start my season, this weekend. It’s the first time that everything really has gone to plan, and until now it’s been great. To end up with the pole position is fantastic, I’m really, really happy with that, and I look forward to tomorrow.
“To get away from the front is a massive help, you can control everything, and you’re in clean air, hopefully, if everything goes well. Definitely tomorrow we need to be cautious, because it’s going to be a very, very tough race, especially rear tyre degradation and wear, this track is quite severe for that. I’m not sure if we have what it takes to win the race tomorrow.”
Asked by this writer if it was frustrating to have to accept that he didn’t have a winning car, Rosberg backtracked slightly.
“I didn’t say that. I just said that we need to be cautious for tomorrow, because it will be more challenging than it was today. Also in mind of the race in China where the car seemed to be quicker in qualifying than it did in the race. It’s possible that we’ll not be as quick as that in the race.”
Adam Cooper F1 