Fisichella laments missing out on top 10

Renault driver Fisichella endured a disappointing day after he failed to make the final cut for the decisive 10-driver shoot-out for pole, despite having a new and upgraded engine.

The Italian driver will start from 11th place.

"What can I say? I am very disappointed to only start eleventh at my home race," said Fisichella. "The balance of the car felt much better than yesterday, so we should have been in the top ten for sure.

"I think we may have made a mistake in how we managed the second session, because I think we could have run again at the end, but this is something we will learn for the future.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, we now have a lot of options for our strategy, and we will work tonight to find the best one. The speed and consistency are there to have a good race."

Fisichella's teammate Fernando Alonso completed a rather poor day for Renault, the world champion qualifying in fifth position.

"I don't think fifth is the perfect place to start at this circuit because overtaking is so difficult, but we are not in such a bad position either," said Alonso.

"The balance (of the car) is better than it was yesterday and feels correct for the race, so now we need to try and make up positions at the start."