Webber surprised by lack of pace

The Williams driver will start the race from 19th position after struggling for pace right from the start of qualifying.

Webber admitted he was surprised by his lack of speed.

"It was a tough session for me today - I've never had too much of a problem with qualifying in the past, but today I couldn't find the car for some reason," said Webber.

"I was struggling for pace and couldn't get close to Nico, even though I had saved new tyres for qualifying so it was a surprise - not quick enough, it's as simple as that."

Teammate Nico Rosberg enjoyed a better day and, despite being disappointed to miss out on the final shootout, the German is optimistic for the race.

"I was pretty happy with the car, it felt good and I thought I could achieve a good grid position, maybe as high as 7th or 8th," said Rosberg, 12th quickest.

"I went into Q2 and normally the oversteer goes away as you go further into qualifying and we usually get stronger and stronger, but today the car went the other way.

"As the track changed during the session, I found myself lacking rear grip. However, we have good tyres for the race tomorrow and I am confident we can get a positive result."