Rosberg happy with wet pace

The German was one of the quickest man when the track was at its wettest, but then was forced to switch to intermediates tyres for the final segment as conditions improved.

Rosberg qualified his Williams in seventh position, but reckons it could have been better.

"It was good to see that we were fastest on the wets throughout qualifying," said Rosberg. "Unfortunately, however, I think we just weren't quick enough on the intermediates.

"We weren't able to warm up the front tyres enough so they didn't work properly which ultimately hurt our pace. Still, seventh is a position from which we can hope for a strong race tomorrow."

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima completed a solid day for Williams, the Japanese finishing in ninth position.

"It was a difficult qualifying session with a long time between red flags and each round," Nakajima said. "It would probably have been better if it had continued raining because the car was very competitive in the wet, but we still managed to get a good position.

"It's the first time I've been in the top ten since Hungary so I'm looking forward to a good race tomorrow."