Mercedes AMG Petronas
Nico Rosberg believes a lack of KERS power cost him time to pole sitter Sebastian Vettel after qualifying in second place for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Rosberg, who was quickest in Friday practice, finished the session almost seven-tenths of a second behind his compatriot in wet conditions.
"That was a very demanding qualifying session today with really tricky conditions and a long break before the final session," he said.
"I'm really pleased to have achieved second place on the grid and a big thank you to the team for their work; we did everything right today. My target was to give Sebastian a hard time so I was surprised that the gap was so big in these conditions."
"I lost time in the last sector compared to him which was down to a lack of KERS power when you do two consecutive quick laps. Being on the front row gives us a great opportunity in the race but the most important thing is to stay in front of the Ferrari [drivers]."
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton was disappointed with his fifth fastest time.
"Naturally I'm a little disappointed with fifth place as Nico's position shows there was clearly potential for more today," he said.
"Wet sessions haven't been too good for me this year and, although we made some changes going into qualifying, I'm struggling to get to grips with how the car works in these conditions. It's getting better but there is still so much to learn."
"However we've got everything to play for in the race tomorrow and I hope to have a good fight out there and make some progress forward. Our aim of course is to finish ahead of the Ferraris and hopefully score enough points to secure our second place finish."
