Rosberg blames traffic for missing top 10

The Williams driver said he had extracted the maximum from his car, but claimed he could have made it into the final session had he not being slowed down near the end of his flying lap.

Rosberg will start from 11th position.

"Today I really got everything I could out of the car but I think a position in the top ten could have been possible," said Rosberg. "What cost me time was the traffic I met in the last corner of my fastest lap.

"I had so much understeer behind the car in front and that cost me the tenth and a half I needed to make it into Q3. Anyway, 11th is better than 10th, because we now have the option of what strategy to go for tomorrow and points are possible from this position."

Teammate Alex Wurz also missed out on the top ten and he admitted he was hoping to be in the top eight.

"It was so tight today," he said. "I missed Q3 by such a small margin. I was very close to Nico and looking good for a place in the top ten because I've felt really comfortable with the car every time I've been out on track.

"I was hoping to finish 8th; 12th is acceptable, but I'm not really happy. I'm disappointed because we are competitive and I should have done better today. The Renaults and Webber picked up some speed right at the last minute as well which hurt us."