Heidfeld laments practice fire

The German's car was heavily damaged in a big fire during the morning session, a problem caused by a small hole in the one of the exhausts of his car.

Although Renault worked at full speed to try to get the car ready for qualifying, the German was unable to run and will start the race from the bottom of the grid.

"It was a challenging day, and there was not much more we could have done after the exhaust problem this morning," said Heidfeld. "The was a small hole in the right exhaust and then it overheated. Then, when I heard a strange noise, the power cut out and there were flames so I had to stop.

"Since then, the team worked flat out to try and get me out for the qualifying session, but it was not to be. At least I managed to get a couple of laps on the hard tyres today, and during the race tomorrow I will need to push hard to make up some ground and get up the order."

In contrast with Heidfeld's, team-mate Vitaly Petrov enjoyed a very good day, the Russian qualifying in sixth position.

"We have got to be happy with the result," he said. "The team made a big improvement today, and the result of my car reflects that.

"Things felt good, the balance of the car was fine and I was able to put in a fast time in Q3 to ensure that we got the car in a good position on the grid.

"I knew what we had to do today, and did it so I am pleased and looking forward to tomorrow. It should be another action packed race and strategy will be very important."