Heidfeld says he expected more

The German is driving on a grand prix weekend for the first time since the end of last season, and he finished down in 15th place in today's session.

Heidfeld, replacing Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber, was a full second slower than team-mate Kamui Kobayashi.

"I am not completely happy. I hoped for more and I think I didn't get the most out of the car," said Heidfeld. "But perhaps this wasn't realistic considering the fact I only drove this car yesterday for the very first time with these tyres.

"There is a lot to learn and I'm sure we will be benefiting from it soon. I'm not too pessimistic for the race, because the long runs in free practice under race conditions were quite good. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Kobayashi, on the other hand, was delighted with his showing after making it into Q3, ending up as 10th quickest.

"I am very happy. I managed to do a couple of good laps in qualifying. In free practice on Friday I didn't find it easy. For me the track was new and it obviously is a challenging one, as well as a special one with the heat and the lights.

"But I also wasn't happy with the car in free practice. The team did a great job in improving it, so in qualifying it was good and I think my result is the best we could achieve today."