BMW unhappy to miss out on top ten

"Somehow we could not really get the tyres to work on a low fuel load," said Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who was down in 14th position after struggling for grip.

"On old tyres we were quick this morning, but we didn't practice with new tyres then and didn't gain enough from them in qualifying. The result is very disappointing for us."

Teammate Nick Heidfeld, who in Bahrain made it to the final part of qualifying, failed to make the final cut to fight for the top ten positions.

Heidfeld, who finished in 15th place, said Red Bull's David Coulthard had slowed him down on his fast lap.

"Certainly I am not happy with the result," he said. "On my second run the first sector time was good. But for the second and third sectors David Coulthard kept driving directly in front of me. That was it.

"We gain a few positions on the grid because some others need to change their engines, so we'll simply have to make the most of our possibilities come the race."