Schumacher was hoping for more

"I am somewhat disappointed as the circumstances today were exactly as I had wished them to be," said Schumacher, who looked strong during the session but dropped down the order in the end.

"I really hoped for more from qualifying but it didn't turn out right for us.

"I couldn't have gone any quicker on my lap and there were no issues so the only explanation is that my tyres cooled down at the beginning when I had to leave the racing line to let Sebastian and Mark past. It's a shame that it didn't work out better today."

Team-mate Nico Rosberg blamed Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi for slowing him down during what he claimed was doing to be his best lap in Q2.

The German had to settle for 13th position, the first time he has qualified outside the top ten since the Belgian GP.

"We were on for a good result in qualifying today but on the drying track, the intermediate tyres were only good for one fast lap and I was blocked by Buemi on my lap in Q2," he said.

"So that was it for me and it's disappointing to qualify so far down the field when we could have taken advantage of the conditions."