Raikkonen laments qualifying 'lottery'

"It was a bit of a lottery in qualifying as it was really wet and slippery on track," said Raikkonen, who will start from fifth position.

"However we did what we could and fifth is not too bad considering that I had traffic in the final corner which cost me a few tenths. The interesting thing will be to see what the weather will do tomorrow.

"I lost my mirror during the final qualifying session but didn't notice it, and it had no effect. Now we will see what happens in the race," added the Finn, yet to win a race this season.

Teammate Pedro de la Rosa also had an eventful session on his way to the seventh fastest time.

The Spanish driver was happy with his placing despite a spin on his final flying lap.

"A very eventful qualifying where I was constantly battling to stay on track, and had a lot of near spins," said de la Rosa. "At the start of my flying lap when my Michelin tyres were at their hottest and had the most grip I was blocked by a car exiting the pitlane.

"I had to run wide to avoid a collision, and it was about three corners before I was able to get past by which point my tyres had cooled off.

"However in general I'm happy with the performance of our car and the Michelin tyres which is why we were consistent timing wise throughout qualifying, which is always encouraging."