Rosberg happy with top ten effort

The Williams driver, quickest on Friday, had struggled with his car's handling in the final practice session and feared he would have a difficult qualifying.

However, things were better than he had anticipated and the German was pleased with his effort.

"I must say I am very pleased with today's result because we weren't looking good this morning," said Rosberg. "In qualifying, we struggled to get the tyres to work because the temperatures were only just about right.

"The tyres weren't perfect on the first lap, but then they came together on the second. I managed to hook up a strong lap in Q2 which put me as high as P7, but I then didn't have any tyres left for Q3.

"We did the best we could and we can be happy with the fifth row. We have a strong strategy so we have a good chance for the race tomorrow."

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima, on the other hand, was disappointing with his showing after finishing down in 11th.

"My effort is a little bit disappointing," said Nakajima. "I felt comfortable throughout the session but I then lost time towards the end of my quick lap.

"The car felt really good too so I need to look over my data and see why I was losing that time. I think we can still have a decent race; in fact, I need to after the last few that haven't gone well for me. Points will definitely be a target for me tomorrow."