YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi -- Nico Rosberg says he was simply unable to match Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, but remains positive he can still secure his first title with a victory on Sunday.
Hamilton beat Rosberg to pole by a convincing 0.303s on Saturday evening, with Rosberg unable to find an answer for his title rival in the final sector of the lap. Rosberg still starts Sunday's race in a stronger position for title success, with a podium finish enough to secure his first championship on Sunday evening, but he is not deviating from his plan to go for the win.
"As I have said, I have come here to try and be on pole and try and win the race tomorrow -- that's what I'd love to do so I'm not ecstatic with today," he said. "Lewis just did a great job and was a couple of tenths quicker.
"It just wasn't possible for me to do that time today, even though I gave it everything. But, as we know, there's still opportunities tomorrow and for sure I'll try and go for the win."
The biggest threat to Rosberg's title hopes will come from the Red Bulls and Ferraris behind him on the grid. If Hamilton wins the race with two rival cars between him and Rosberg he will take the title, making a good start crucial for Rosberg's chances.
He could be helped by Daniel Ricciardo starting on the super-soft tyre from third, which will offer less grip away from the line than the ultra-softs chosen by Rosberg, but the championship leader was reluctant to start thinking that far ahead.
"I haven't thought about that, I'm still thinking about qualifying at the moment," he said. "I guess it's better to start the race [on ultra-softs] and then we've got to see how the ultra-softs hold up. But we are very confident that we have chosen the right tyre for the best possible race tomorrow. I'm optimistic.
"Tomorrow I will keep it simple and won't think about what-ifs -- that would be the wrong approach for a good performance tomorrow."