Qualifying my fault, says Lauda

Niki Lauda has held his hands up and admitted he is to blame for Jaguar's disastrous qualifying performance for the Belgian Grand Prix

Lauda, who was appointed new team boss after the sacking of Bobby Rahal just last week, said the wrong tyre choice was made during the changeable weather conditions at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Pedro de la Rosa posted the British team's best time, but that still put the Spaniard back in 10th place, while Eddie Irvine set his worst qualifying position of the season with the 17th fastest time.

"Given that I am in charge of this team, the buck stops with me and I'll take the blame for this one," said the former world champion, who opted for intermediates tyres while most teams decided on slicks with the circuit rapidly drying up towards the end of the session. "The debate on tyre choice is always a difficult one and today was no different.

"We can't blame anyone or anything but ourselves. We were capable of better things, but we simply chose the wrong tyre.

"Pedro isn't placed too badly," continued the Austrian. "but it is frustrating to know that the right tyre choice would have put both Jaguars in the top 10."