Bourdais critical of Force India drivers

The Toro Rosso driver said first Sutil and then Fisichella ruined his first two runs in the opening qualifying segment.

An unimpressed Bourdais failed to make it to Q2, having to settle for 18th position.

"Bad traffic, basically the Force India guys, ruined my afternoon: on my first run I was held up by Sutil as early as Turn 3 and on the second, I came up behind Fisichella in Turn 8," said Bourdais.

"That meant we weren't too sure about the handling of the car and I asked for an adjustment to be made for the last run which turned out not the right thing to do. It's annoying because I came within two tenths of Q2.

"Everyone seems to behave quite well in qualifying, but I don't know what those guys were doing on their out laps. It was a bit surprising.

"Starting eighteenth, our expectations are limited, but I will give it my best shot as usual and try and make the most of any unusual circumstances that might occur."

Teammate Sebastian Vettel had a better day after qualifying in 14th position in the STR2's final race before the new car makes it debut in Monaco.

"The track was changing a lot, the earlier rain did not help, but I am happy because at the last two races I struggled a lot to find the balance and now we are slowly getting there and I feel we have made a step forward," he said.

"It's nice to give our old car a good grid position for its final appearance. In Q2, it was very close with the Hondas and unfortunately we did not progress as the track conditions improved.

"Overall, we can be happy with today and now I'm looking forward to getting through 58 laps tomorrow."