Nico Rosberg admitted qualifying for the Grand Prix of Europe was more challenging that he was expecting after claiming pole position with a late run in Q3.
Mercedes has looked nailed on for pole position all weekend but a messy final qualifying session saw both Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton fail to a set a good time with their initial runs. Rosberg's second attempt was right on the limit and included a scrape with the wall at Turn 15, but the German avoided damage and crossed the line moments before a red flag triggered by teammate Lewis Hamilton crashing out of the session.
Rosberg ended up seven tenths clear of Sergio Perez and admitted Mercedes had to improvise slightly during Q3.
"Yeah it was great," he said. "It was one of the more challenging sessions out there, but everything worked out well. There was a bit of re-organising because for example in Q3 Lewis had an off in front of me so I had to abort that lap and then I just had one more attempt at the end, but that worked out fine and I'm very, very happy. It was great."
Perez's gearbox penalty means he will drop to seventh, leaving Rosberg on pole ahead of a Red Bull and a second row made up of Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton will start from tenth position after his woes in Q3 but Rosberg is refusing to write off the reigning world champion.
When asked where his main challenge will come from on Sunday, he replied: "Of course it's going to be Daniel and Sebastian, Kimi and Lewis, never forget him. He can always come back from 10th as he has shown many times this year."