Webber sees glimpse of hope

Webber's Williams team have failed to score points since the European Grand Prix in May, in a streak not seen since the 1984 season.

But following their performance in practice at Magny-Cours, Webber admitted he was cautiously optimistic of a good weekend.

"It was a pretty good day. Alex (Wurz, fourth quickest) did some good long runs in the second session which was critical because the track temperatures this afternoon will be similar to those we'll experience in the race," said Webber, 18th fastest.

"The hot conditions are making it very hard on the tyres at the moment though so we have a lot of data to go through tonight, as well as a lot of set up work to do.

"I did two runs this afternoon and it seems that we're in a lot better shape than we were in the last two races so there's perhaps a window opening for some cautious optimism, which is good."

Teammate Nico Rosberg, driving at the French circuit in a Formula One car for the first time, was also upbeat about their progress despite finishing down in 20th position.

"It was very difficult this morning but, slowly but surely, we're heading in a better set-up direction and I must say that, in the end, the car didn't feel too bad," he said. "I hope that we can keep on making similar progress tomorrow."