Piquet eyes points finish after top ten

Renault driver Piquet will start from 10th position after managing to make it to Q3 thanks to getting his tyre choice right when the rain hit the track.

The Brazilian was sorry he could not make any more progress in Q3, but he is still hopeful he can fight for his first points of the season.

"The conditions were difficult today, but I managed to deal with them well and had the right tyres at the right moments," said Piquet.

"It's a shame that I couldn't get any more out of Q3, but it's good to be in the top ten and hopefully we will be in a position to score points tomorrow."

Piquet outqualified team-mate Fernando Alonso for the first time this season, the Spaniard getting the tyre choice wrong, having to settle for 12th position.

"At the start of qualifying we were quite optimistic," Alonso said. "We were competitive in Q1 but after that Q2 became difficult for everybody as the conditions were constantly changing.

"Unfortunately we missed the opportunity to be in Q3, but hopefully tomorrow we can make up some positions and if it does rain that could work to our advantage. I'm quite confident for the race tomorrow."