Webber surprised by qualifying pace

"Today went better than expected to be honest," said the Red Bull driver after qualifying in eighth position.

"We worked hard on the car yesterday and the guys did a great job to make the improvements that they did, so we've laid the foundations ahead of tomorrow's race.

"Q3 was quite tricky for a lot of people, as the grip level was lower than in Q2, but we're in a sensible position for the start of the race. If it's half as wild as Melbourne - it will be interesting to see," added the Australian, whose team had been hindered by their problems with the suspension.

David Coulthard was 12th quickest after confessing he was surprised he failed to match his practice time in the first sector of the track.

The Scot also said he was not concerned about his team having any more suspension failures.

"I was a bit surprised as in qualifying I was slower in the first sector than I had been in the morning practice," he said. "I'd lost some mechanical grip, which made it difficult to nail the middle sector.

"What's happened this weekend doesn't concern me, as a racing driver you never think you're going to have a car failure, so you don't think about it, and I have complete faith in the team too."