Heidfeld 'very happy' with fifth place

With none of the Ferrari or McLaren drivers having problems during the session, the BMW Sauber driver said fifth place was the best he could have hoped for.

"I am very happy starting from fifth on the grid," the German admitted. "It was the best I could achieve today as the balance of my car is better, but still not ideal, so under the circumstances the result is fine.

"Timing was quite difficult in the session when the sky became darker and darker, and on my last outing in two of the corners the track was already slightly wet."

Heidfeld had qualified in third in Australia, going on to finish in fourth.

Robert Kubica also enjoyed a strong qualifying, the Pole finishing in seventh, although he claimed he could have challenged his teammate's position.

"The car is as competitive as it was in Melbourne and I could have been in the top five, but we made a mistake," Kubica said. "In the end we could have had a better result, and that is what counts. After free practice I was happy with the balance, as I was after the last test here.

"The car improved because the condition of the track improved and, though we had a few problems yesterday, we did not have these in qualifying."