Nico Rosberg mastered challenging wet conditions while qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, securing a fifth place grid slot for Williams’ 500th race start tomorrow. In so doing, Rosberg equalled his best qualifying performance this season. While some drivers such as Rosberg prospered in the rain, the weather conspired against many others, including a number of title contenders, and Rosberg’s team-mate, Kazuki Nakajima, who will take to the start tomorrow from 18th.

Nico Rosberg - P5"I am really pleased with the result today. It was a good qualifying session and I was consistently able to be at the front and, despite the conditions, I felt comfortable in the car. On top of this, we didn’t compromise too much for qualifying and we have a good strategy plan for the race. As tomorrow goes, I would rather we didn’t have as much rain as we did today as it was pretty dangerous in terms of aquaplaning. Ultimately, I don’t mind if it is dry or wet tomorrow as long as the amount of rain is reasonable as I have the benefit of a good start position.   

Kazuki Nakajima - P18"It was very difficult and disappointing qualifying today and I just struggled to find a clean lap in the traffic. We had wet conditions in the third practice today and I looked okay, finishing the session in P5. As the track conditions and weather were similar this afternoon, it makes my qualifying result even more disappointing."

Sam Michael, Technical Director"It was an exciting session, the kind of which we don’t see too often and these conditions pay dividends for teams that can think on their feet. We now have quite a mixed grid with cars out of position from where they would normally be, so the race on Sunday is going to be interesting. Nico did a great job in all three qualifying sessions and is well prepared for a strong race tomorrow."