Nico Rosberg boosted his chances of claiming a first Belgian GP win when he claimed pole position in the wet on Saturday.


As the rain bucketed in the break between final practice and qualifying, Formula 1 geared up for a wet shoot-out.

It was evident in the first segment that the Mercedes drivers had the advantage as Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg claimed the 1-2.

And as more rain fell in Q2 they put in a repeat showing, the duo a full second up on their nearest rival.

Heading it the final qualifying segment, the battle was firmly between the two team-mates with Hamilton having the edge over Rosberg having been quickest int the proceeding sessions.

However, when it came down to it, it was the German who emerged victorious.

Putting in the laps in improving conditions, Hamilton struggled to keep his W05 on track.

Mistakes at La Source cost the Brit dearly while a clean lap from Rosberg saw him cross the line with a 2:05.591. Hamilton was 0.228 short.

Sebastian Vettel claimed third place but was over two seconds behind Rosberg while Fernando Alonso was fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.

It was a bit of a disappointing session for Williams as, despite many predicting that they would take the fight to Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas could only manage the sixth best time while Felipe Massa was down in ninth.

They were separated by Kevin Magnussen and Kimi Raikkonen with Jenson Button completing the top ten.

The big shock of Q1 was that Nico Hulkenberg failed to make it through. The Force India driver told his team that his brakes got "colder and colder and colder" and that he had "lost all the confidence" which meant he was not able to attack the circuit.

Times
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2:05.591
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:05.819 +0.228
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 2:07.717 +2.126
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2:07.786 +2.195
5. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 2:07.911 +2.320
6. Valtteri Bottas Williams 2:08.049 +2.458
7. Kevin Magnussen McLaren 2:08.679 +3.088
8. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 2:08.780 +3.189
9. Felipe Massa Williams 2:09.178 +3.587
10. Jenson Button McLaren 2:09.776 +4.185
11. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 2:09.377
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 2:09.805
13. Sergio Perez Force India 2:10.084
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber 2:10.238
15. Romain Grosjean Lotus 2:11.087
16. Jules Bianchi Marussia 2:12.470
17. Pastor Maldonado Lotus 2:11.261
18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 2:11.267
19. Max Chilton Marussia 2:12.566
20. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 2:13.414
21. Andre Lotterer Caterham 2:13.469
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham 2:14.438