Kubica happy with best performance yet

"It was good qualifying session for me - probably my best performance this year from a driving point of view, and I was particularly pleased with my laps in Q3," said Kubica after setting the eight fastest time.

"If you had said to me yesterday I would start the race from eighth, I would have been happy, so it's a good result and puts us in a good position to score points in the race."

Team-mate Vitaly Petrov qualified in 14th position, the Russian also pleased with his showing.

The rookie was also thankful to his team for having repaired his car in time for qualifying following his crash in practice.

"I'm pleased with my performance, which is my best result from a dry qualifying session, even if my ultimate objective has to be to make it through to Q3 because Robert has shown this is what the car can do," he said.

"Overall, things are going in the right direction for me: I'm improving my driving and getting more comfortable with the car all the time.

"I also need to say a big 'thank you' to my mechanics, who did a fantastic job to repair my car in time for qualifying after my accident in free practice."