Romain Grosjean will start the first race of the weekend from the second row after a slightly frustrating qualifying session as pole was clearly within his reach.

The DAMS team leader had already laid down a marker in free practice. He dominated the session almost from start to finish, and when the chequered flag came out he was over 7/10s quicker than his nearest rival.

Qualifying got off to a good start as Romain set the provisional fastest time on his first set of tyres. On his second run, he was held up by Vietoris in the chicane and lost 4/10s. He missed out on pole set by fellow-countryman, Charles Pic, by just over a tenth of a second.

Frustrating for the DAMS driver who, nonetheless, is in a good starting position for the race. This is not the case for his team-mate, Pal Varhaug, who never really got to grips with the Nürburgring.

Loïc David, General Manager: "A great piece of team work. In the free session we showed that we'd got the right setup and the speed. Romain did the rest, and it's a pity that he was baulked on his best lap."

Romain Grosjean: P3, 1m 40.431s

"We were clearly the quickest today, but Vietoris blocked me in the final chicane. Tomorrow is another day and I know that we'll be quick in the race. Let's look on the positive side of things; we're third and our main rivals are all behind us."

Pal Varhaug: P23, 1m 41.163s

"A very tough day. I've already raced at the Nürburgring and it's not my favourite circuit. I can't manage to get the hang of it. I hope to improve in the race and make some progress, especially in the quick corners."

First race tomorrow, Saturday 23rd July at 15h40. Second race, Sunday