Heidfeld sorry to miss front row

The BMW Sauber driver put on another strong showing and will start the race from fourth place, but his time was just a fraction slower than McLaren's Fernando Alonso, second today.

"It was a dramatic qualifying," said Heidfeld. "I was relieved when I saw Lewis (Hamilton) waving his hand and I hope he is ok. After he retired fourth position was my goal. I got there and my lap was good.

"But still it is a bit annoying to see the gap to second place was only one tenth of a second.

"Again I enjoyed the competition with Robert a lot. I wouldn't have complained if the session had been stopped instead of interrupted.

"First of all because I was third at this stage, and second because I would have been able to fly home half an hour earlier," added Heidfeld, who became a father for the second time today.

He will fly to Switzerland to visit his wife and son today.

Teammate Robert Kubica also enjoyed a strong day, the Pole finishing in fifth position.

Kubica, however, reckons BMW will be even stronger in tomorrow's race.

"Qualifying was good for myself and the team, but I think we are in better shape for the race," he said. "Of course the accident to Lewis and the red flag stoppage didn't help, but we have taken an advantage because of this.

"It will be difficult to fight against Ferrari and McLaren, but the pace of our long runs has been quite good. Let's hope tomorrow will be dry as I think we are in a good shape."