Wilson shines in rain

The British rookie put in a strong performance on his qualifying run, lapping the German track an impressive 1.375s faster than the more experienced Jos Verstappen.

"We had the advantage of having several people go ahead of us in the wet, which helped us to assess the conditions and adjust the chassis," said Wilson. "During the run, the car was good in wet trim, and I just concentrated on driving as smoothly as possible. I'm happy with the result, but we've still got a lot to do tomorrow. We'll just keep working on it."

Although beaten by Wilson, Verstappen was still happy with his time, particularly as 16th elevated him off Minardi's customary position at the back of the grid.

"When it starts to rain, there are only so many things you can alter before a qualifying run, and you also have to assess how much risk to take in making those changes," said Verstappen. "Compared with Justin, I wasn't as quick in the wet qualifying session, but I was quicker in the dry sessions this morning.

"In any event, sixteenth isn't too bad for Friday, and it also means we don't have to go out first in qualifying tomorrow. Personally, I hope for a dry session, and track condition that are consistent for everyone."