F1: Hamilton says brakes hampered pole bid

Lewis Hamilton blamed brake problems for failing to beat Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Nico Rosberg to pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Rosberg secured his fourth consecutive F1 pole at a wet Spa as Hamilton had to settle for second after finishing over two tenths of a second behind. The Briton said he was unable to push as much as he wanted because his brakes were not working properly.

"This is a circuit where you have to have confidence in the brakes," said Hamilton. "You could see in Q3 when I was going straight on as the left brake wasn't working for some reason, I don't know why.

"It went into glazing. When it glazes it is very hard to recover – you have to put the brake balance forward. It's not that easy to clear it."

He is confident that the problem will be solved overnight and allow him to be trouble-free in the race.

"Over the evening you can scrub it and get rid of the glazing – when it goes shiny – so over the evening we should lose it and it will be OK for the race tomorrow."

Hamilton said he was very happy with second place, as he reckons it gives him a good chance to take the lead at the start.

"I am not disappointed today," he said. "If you look previous years P2 is best place to start here. I started from pole here last year and got overtaken by [Sebastian] Vettel.

"I think it gives you the most opportunity at the start – I am happy to be up there."