Rosberg upbeat about Williams pace

The German has put in a string of consistent good performances in recent races, highlighting the progress that Williams have made, and he is optimistic of a decent finish at Monza.

"Eighth is a good result," said Rosberg. "We're looking quick, which shows how well our Toyota engine is working at the moment.

"This will give us a chance for a good race tomorrow, in terms of not being overtaken and then to be able to overtake. It is a very tight grid, but we have a strong car and we're looking ok in terms of strategy as well.

"There isn't much difference between strategies here and it will be interesting to see what will work best in the race."

Teammate Alex Wurz qualified five places behind Rosberg in 13th place after losing time with a lock-up, but he has his sights set on more points from the race.

It went ok today but it was quite challenging out there," he said. "We made a few small set-up adjustments this morning which worked out well and the car was good.

"Unfortunately, on my flying lap in Q2, I locked my front tyres too much going into the first corner and that cost me about one and a half tenths. That was my chance to get into the top ten gone but, from my starting position we can choose our strategy and I'm optimistic we can get in the points tomorrow."