Nico Rosberg believes he failed to extract the maximum performance from his Mercedes package in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The German driver will start the race from seventh position, but he said he felt he could have done better had he managed to get his tires to the right temperature for his last run.
Rosberg said the lower track temperatures and traffic did not help his cause either.
"We didn't quite get the maximum from our qualifying session today which was a shame," said Rosberg. "The track temperatures dropped during the session and it became more difficult to get the tyres working.
"On my second run in Q3, I had too much traffic in front of me to warm the tires up sufficiently and that hurt me on the quick lap, otherwise I think we could have been further ahead. However I'm on the good side of the grid and it should be a fun race tomorrow."
Teammate Michael Schumacher qualified in eighth position – albeit nearly a second behind Rosberg – and the seven-time champion admitted there was not much more he could have done.
"It was quite a tight qualifying today," Schumacher said. "I aborted my last lap in Q1 to save tires, and having some fresh tires left is the good news from Q3 as well. Overall it was a normal qualifying where we would probably not have much more in the pocket.
"I also expect a straightforward race and we will try to make the most out of opportunities that arise. The tires should not be a big issue here, and we tested their behavior in P2 yesterday which took place at the same time as the race. The fact that the track temperatures will drop during the race might be good for us as we struggle a bit with the tire temperatures here."