Rosberg wanted Massa scalp

Nico Rosberg was 1.7s slower than Sebastian Vettel's pole time © Getty Images

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Nico Rosberg said that he was trying to beat Felipe Massa during qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Rosberg qualified seventh, just 0.2s behind Massa's Ferrari. He will start alongside his Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher, however, and Schumacher saved a set of tyres by not completing a run during Q3. Rosberg said it was worth trying to beat Massa, and that he hoped to be able to get ahead of him off the line in the race.

"I had a good fast lap in Q3 and we were able to take the most out of the car today so I'm quite satisfied," Rosberg said. "Starting in seventh place was the maximum that we could have achieved, although Massa was very close so it was definitely worth trying to catch him. Being on the clean side at the grid gives me a good position for the start, so I will try to make up positions there and score some good points."

Team principal Ross Brawn said that Rosberg had been able to get so close to Massa because the team had found some more pace.

"We have moved forward with the car, and the changes that we have made for this weekend look to be working well," Brawn said. "We look forward to an interesting and challenging race tomorrow, and there should be a lot of opportunities."

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