Kubica still ruing Friday's problems

"Unfortunately I missed yesterday's second free practice session," said the BMW Sauber driver, who suffered an engine failure after just 13 laps in yesterday's second practice.

"As a result I had no experience of the track conditions at this time of day. The conditions were completely different compared to the third free practice session.

"The lower temperatures had quite a big effect on the car's balance. In the end qualifying in seventh is quite okay and I am optimistic that we can fight for points tomorrow."

Team-mate Nick Heidfeld was also satisfied after qualifying in eighth position, although he felt he could have gone faster had he not found traffic in his final run.

"I think my eighth position is alright," said Heidfeld. "On the last lap there was a small chance to improve, but I had traffic with Mark Webber in front of me, and anyway there is no guarantee this lap would have been faster.

"If I take the fuel load into account, I'm happy with my grid position although I only really know the fuel load for our cars. The tyres seem to last here remarkably well, which means it could pay off if you stay out for longer.

"The light from the setting sun was a bit brighter than yesterday, but the circuit is built in such a way that you have to deal with it in only one corner, which anyway is flat. For our last race tomorrow I hope for all of us we can achieve a good result with points for both cars."