Vettel says tyres will be key in the race

The Toro Rosso driver, winner of the Italian Grand Prix last month, qualified in ninth place.

Vettel said the track condition are likely to make life hard for the tyres, and he reckons keeping them in good shape will be crucial to achieve a good result.

"At the start of qualifying the track was still quite green because of the rain, but we made it to Q3 again which is good," said Vettel.

"Then in the final part, I was struggling a bit with the heavier car, as it did not feel as good as before and I made a couple of small mistakes.

"But the gap to the next fastest was a bit too big. It will be a tough race on the cars and especially the tyres, so I think the key to success will be to keep the tyres in good shape. I hope our strategy turns out to be a good one."

Teammate Sebastien Bourdais qualified right behind Vettel.

The Frenchman was pleased with his effort and believes the team are in good form for tomorrow.

Bourdais said: "It was a good qualifying and I'm happy to be close to Sebastian on a track with a lot of corner entries on the brakes which is where I usually struggle with the rear end of the car, so I had to hold back a bit.

"I think the car has improved a bit after the team found a couple of things on the aero side which has helped. I think we are in good shape for the race."