Rosberg 'disappointed with second' in Spain

Nick Rosberg admitted that he was disappointed not to claim his third consecutive pole position of the season in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday afternoon.

However he made made no qualms that on this occasion he had simply been out-performed by his Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton.

"For sure I’m disappointed to be second," he said after the session ended. "I wanted to be first today, of course. But Lewis was just quicker in qualifying today and that’s it."

Rosberg waved aside suggestions that the pressure on him as the championship leader was taking its toll.

"We’ve been fighting now for the championship for the last two years now, so it’s no different again this year. The battle with Lewis and the battle trying to stay ahead of all the other teams, nothing has changed.

"I did lead the championship already anyway in 2014 for example, so even that is not the first time.

"Fortunately, it’s the race that counts so there are still a couple of opportunities tomorrow for sure, at the start for example," he added. "Strategy-wise it’s not going to be an easy race tomorrow, so I’ll try and take my chances there."

As well as trying to get ahead of Hamilton, Rosberg also needs to be wary of threats from behind him on the grid. Having warned about Ferrari's pace coming into the weekend, Rosberg admitted he was a bit surprised to find the second row packed with Red Bull cars instead.

"We’re surprised to be so far ahead. At the same time we’re also surprised how close Red Bull now is," he admitted. "It’s really changing around quite a lot. The only constant is us, we’re always there and always up front and we always have a gap to whoever is in second at the moment."