Lewis Hamilton is still gunning for the win in Austria despite making a Q3 error on both his flying laps which will see him start ninth.
The Briton went wide on his first lap which meant his time – which looked good enough for pole – was deleted, leaving him just one more lap to post a competitive time.
On his second lap however his rear-axle locked and he span his W05, essentially bringing an end to his session. He later admitted he believed it may have been his fault rather than a car issue.
“At the moment we don’t know exactly what happened, but I assume I just pressed the brake too hard,” he explained.
When asked if he was pushing too hard, he replied: “I don’t think I’m trying too hard, my laps have been pretty good all weekend and I knew I had extra time in my pocket and I pulled it out on my first lap, but obviously didn’t finish the lap.
“The second time round I was just taking the car into unknown territories I guess, but there’s a long way to go so don’t rule me out yet!”
The 29-year-old is still hopeful of securing victory despite team-mate Nico Rosberg starting six places ahead in third.
“Even if I was starting last I’d always be going for the win. Obviously it gets harder and harder the further back we go. All I know is mentally I’m going for the win, but it’s damage limitation as well to try and get as many more points onto the board as I can.
“I’m just going to try and have fun, stay out of trouble and just take my time. There’s a long, long race tomorrow with different strategies and all sorts of things. It’s great to see Williams so fast today and really good for them to have a front row. Sometimes it’s just other people’s turn, but hopefully tomorrow we will still have a good race.”
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