Rosberg poised for pole surge

NICO Rosberg gave himself every chance of taking full advantage of championship rival Lewis Hamilton’s engine penalty when he secured pole position for today’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton, 19 points clear of his Mercedes team-mate, completed just one run before bowing out in 21st place.

His 55-place punishment, following a number of changes to his engine, means he will start the race from last. No driver in Formula One history has won from the final spot on the grid.

Rosberg, who will now be expected to convert his pole into a much-needed victory, will be joined on the front row by Belgian-born Max Verstappen in the Red Bull with Kimi Raikkonen third for Ferrari.

The grid penalty has been lingering over Hamilton after he encountered several engine failures in the opening rounds of the season. Mercedes had been weighing up whether to take the grid drop at Spa-Francorchamps or at next Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, with both circuits expected to offer him the best chance of fighting back through the field.

But a decision was taken by Formula One’s all-conquering team to incur the penalty on the sport’s return to action following its traditional mid-season break. Under the sport’s complicated rules, the size of his punishment actually matters little with the world champion simply ordered to the back of the field, and not incurring a further timed penalty.

“The guys did an incredible job, putting engines in and taking them out,” Hamilton said. “I want to get up as high as I can [in the race] but it’s going to be hard. It won’t be smooth sailing – one car per lap – and it’s going to be lots of pit stops, so who knows?”

Hamilton’s penalty hands the initiative firmly over to his Mercedes team-mate, and Rosberg made no mistake in qualifying. His best lap of one minute and 46.744 seconds was enough to place him ahead of Verstappen.

Sebastian Vettel qualified fourth for Ferrari, with Daniel Ricciardo lining up in fifth for Red Bull. Jenson Button will start in ninth while British rookie Jolyon Palmer qualified 14th, two places behind Renault team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

Fernando Alonso was already due to join Hamilton on the back row after serving an engine penalty, and his miserable weekend continued in qualifying after he failed to set a time when his McLaren came to a stop on the track just moments after leaving the pit-lane.