Williams Duo Encouraged by Pace

An intensive test session at Jerez last week appeared to have paid off in helping the team understand their Mark II aerodynamic package better.

Following the disastrous outings at Magny-Cours and Silverstone, Webber managed to qualify sixth with Heidfeld just one place further back.

"My lap wasn't too bad, even if I had to go out a bit early on in the session," said Webber. "We are doing okay here and we are definitely better than our performances in Silverstone and Magny Cours. This track is much less sensitive and our car responds better."

Heidfeld added: "It looks like our car has improved and this is encouraging. My lap was all right; only in the last sector I suffered a bit of understeer and probably lost some time there.

"From this starting position it's realistic to aim to collect some points in the race tomorrow. Early to say, but from this qualifying it looks like our situation is improving."

One of the biggest concerns for the team now, though, is the weather - with the threat of rain showers still present for tomorrow's race.

"We have a good strategy and we need to do the best we can for tomorrow's race," explained Webber. "We'll see what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, of course if it rains it will be tricky, especially due to the poor visibility but this is a challenging part of our job.

"It usually provides a mixed result and it's a bit of a lottery, good for the fans!"