Nico on pole as Lewis pays price of engine woes
NICO ROSBERG took advantage of championship rival Lewis Hamilton’s engine penalty to secure pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who is 19 points clear of Rosberg in the title race after winning six of the last seven grands prix, completed just one run before bowing out in 21st place.
And his severe punishment, following a number of changes to his engine this weekend, means he will start from last position. No driver in Formula One history has ever won from the final spot on the grid.
Rosberg’s best lap of one minute and 46.744 seconds was enough to place him ahead of Belgian-born Max Verstappen in the Red Bull with Kimi Raikkonen third for Ferrari.
He said: “We had a difficult weekend up to now and especially this morning as we were seriously off the pace on one lap. So, it wasn’t easy coming into qualifying.
“We got the job done in the end, we made a few changes on the car, and we found the right way. So, it all came together and it was feeling good so I am very pleased about that.”
The grid penalty has been lingering over Hamilton like a dark cloud after he encountered several engine failures in the opening rounds of the season.
His Mercedes team had been weighing up whether to take the grid drop here at SpaFrancorchamps 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 midseason break.
Following a raft of changes to his engine, Hamilton will serve a 55-place penalty under the sport’s complicated rules but in reality, 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?”
Elsewhere, 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 albeit half-a-second slower and than Renault team-mate Kevin Magnussen.