Car failure costs Hamilton dear

02 November 2013 04:33

Lewis Hamilton blamed car failure for the spin which wrecked his hopes of claiming pole position on Saturday for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The incident on his last lap of the third and final qualifying session left the Briton behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in fourth on the grid.

"Something gave way on the right-hand side of the car," said Hamilton.

"I was going through the chicane and it snapped out.

"I tried to pull away and it wouldn't move, so something's busted."

He added that his chances of victory were diminished by starting fourth.

"This is a very difficult circuit to overtake on so being at the front means everything," he said. "Hopefully, we can get a good start and maybe still challenge for podium positions.

"I'm just grateful I didn't drop too far down."

Rosberg was satisfied to be close to the Red Bull duo.

"We're 'best of the rest' which is the target this weekend, and we get close to Red Bull from time to time," said Rosberg.

"The constructors' is what counts for us, and locking out second row on the grid when Lotus is coming back (on form) and Ferrari are well back is good for us."

Source: AFP