Fisichella frustrated after missing top 10

The Renault driver will start from 13th place after being unable to set a fast enough time on his final flying lap.

Fisichella said his previous attempt, good enough to get him into the final session, had been ruined by traffic.

"After a run of good qualifying sessions, it is really frustrating not to get through to the top ten," said Fisichella. "We spent the morning trying to find a good balance with the new front wing we are running here and made good progress compared to yesterday.

"We are still understanding how to find the best set- up with it, but the car felt OK in the first qualifying runs. On my first lap in second qualifying, I had traffic in the first sector and that cost me three tenths - enough to get through to the super-pole session.

"So I knew that everything was resting on the final lap and I just went over the limit in a few places, trying to make up the time. It is tough to be starting from so far back, but that is how it goes. We can certainly make up positions tomorrow, so now we need to find a good strategy to help us do that."

Finn Heikki Kovalainen had a better day and qualified in seventh position, missing out on sixth place by just 0.002 seconds.

Both Renaults will start behind their BMW Sauber rivals, and Kovalainen admitted they just didn't have the pace to match their German rivals.

"My final lap in Q3 was OK, so it was frustrating to lose out to Webber by just two thousandths little, as I could probably have found some more time in the first and final sectors," he said.

"But our pace this afternoon wasn't good enough to fight with the BMWs, and that is our target at the moment.

"The new front wing is definitely a step forward for me, and the car is working better, but we are lacking grip, and missing something with the package this weekend. The balance is good, though, and we hope that our new developments will bring us better consistency in the race. "