Webber: It's been an unusual day.

Spa-Francorchamps lived up to its reputation of delivering temperamental weather as heavy rain plagued qualifying for the Belgium Grand Prix.

Despite conditions forcing the first practice session of the day to be cancelled, Mark Webber was able to put in a good time when it mattered to qualify in seventh place, as a number of front runners found themselves baulked by falling rain.

"It's been quite an usual day for us here at Spa as we entered qualifying having only completed twelve laps in this morning's practice session," Webber said. "The weather has not been good at all and this has really affected the amount of running that we have been able to do.

"Despite this the team has done an excellent job in preparing the car and as a result the R5 felt well-balanced going into qualifying this afternoon. It was still raining when I headed out and we took the decision to be on full-wets. The track can be tricky to master in these conditions but I am pleased with where we have ended up. Seventh on the grid for tomorrow's race is good news for us and of course now we are focusing on the race and our goal to finish in the points.

"All the cars are very reliable at the stage on the calendar and the fight for points is not easy. However, we have a good solid package in the R5 and we are well-prepared for tomorrow so I am looking forward to getting out there and racing."

Unfortunately for rookie Christian Klien, rain started to fall as he headed out for his one qualifying lap, although he will still hope to pick up his first points finish from 13th on the grid.

"My first qualifying session this afternoon was good but going into the second session the rain started again when I headed out and I was probably pushing too hard as well," he said. "Although 13th on the grid is still a good points fighting place and given the complexity of this track I have no doubt that there will be attrition. I will be looking to make the most of any opportunity to make my way up the grid and I am certainly excited about the race."

Head of vehicle performance Mark Gillan believes that an interesting race lies ahead.

"Both Mark and Christian produced solid performances and I am certainly pleased with our positions for tomorrow's grid," he said. "We tried very hard today to maintain our focus for the race tomorrow as it is forecast to be dry while also preparing the car for qualifying which was wet. I think we have achieved this but of course we will have to wait and see how we do tomorrow. This race is going to be exciting and with both of our drivers in good starting positions we will be racing for a points finish with both."