Rosberg takes Belgian GP pole position

World championship leader Nico Rosberg has secured his fourth pole position in a row in a tense and wet qualifying session for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

World championship leader Nico Rosberg has secured his fourth pole position in a row when he topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a tense and wet qualifying session for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was placed fifth in Saturday's timed runs.

The German Rosberg, 29, clocked a best lap of two minutes and 5.698 seconds to outpace his British partner in treacherous and capricious conditions at the sprawling 7.004km circuit in the forests of the Belgian Ardennes.

Hamilton struggled with his brakes and handling in the slippery conditions, but will start alongside Rosberg on the front row as he seeks to trim his 11 points lead in the drivers' championship with eight races remaining.

Rosberg's success secured his 11th career pole and his seventh this season.

It was the Mercedes team's first front row lockout since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, five races previously. For Rosberg, it also brought his first top three qualifying result in Belgium in eight attempts.

Behind the two Mercedes, defending four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany was third fastest for Red Bull ahead of Spain's former two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Ricciardo in the second Red Bull.


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