Nico Rosberg says pole position and Mercedes' advantage over the rest in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix proves its strength in any conditions.
Mercedes has been undoubtedly the strongest car in the dry this season and was a class apart on Sunday's delayed qualifying session, which ended after Q2 when the weather deteriorated again. Rosberg edged Hamilton out by a tenth and held over a second's advantage over Daniel Ricciardo in third and he praised the handling of the Mercedes in wet conditions.
Asked what he expected from the race and how much he needed to win with his title hopes hanging by a thread, Rosberg replied: "Win, for sure very badly. Race, I have no idea. It was supposed to be drying out from now onwards but it really doesn't look like that, so who knows? I'm feeling good in any condition at the moment and our car is great in any condition, full wets, intermediates, dries, whatever really."
Rosberg set his eventual pole lap on used tyres but says he felt comfortable with the car in the tricky conditions.
"For sure, it's been a really good qualifying, I felt comfortable in the car. It's difficult out there with the aquaplaning and everything because when it happens you just really struggle to have control of the car because it snaps suddenly without warning. That's been quite challenging but I got a good lap together. It was with a used set of tyres so that was even better because Q3 I had a new set to go so I was feeling really good."