Raikkonen sorry to miss out on pole

The Finn will start from the front row of the grid for the second time this year, having not been in the top two since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen, however, said an error at the final corner had cost time a lot of time, which allowed McLaren rivals Lewis Hamilton to beat him by just a tenth of a second.

"It was good, but unfortunately I ran off the circuit on exit on the last corner and lost a lot of time, but nothing we can change anymore," said Raikkonen, looking for his second consecutive victory after winning in France last Sunday.

"I am a bit disappointed, but we need to make a good start and it is a long race. We will see what we can do."

Raikkonen admitted the windy conditions made driving difficult again, although things were better than in yesterday's practice.

"I think the wind has been quite difficult all weekend, although not as bad today as yesterday. It is not too bad but it is the wind that makes it more difficult," he said.

Raikkonen's teammate Felipe Massa will start from fourth place.