After venting his frustration at Valencia two weeks ago, Red Bull driver Mark Webber on Saturday backtracked over the performance of his car's Renault engine.

Fifth fastest through the speed traps in qualifying at the high speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the 31-year-old steered his Renault-powered RB4 to seventh on the grid, just behind works Renault driver Fernando Alonso.

"It's good to see Alonso and me up there today, it's encouraging for Renault," said the Australian in Belgium.

Webber's comments follow the much less competitive weekend on the Spanish streets of the European grand prix, where he complained of a lack of power from the 2.4 litre Renault.

There is undoubtedly a slight air of suspicion in the F1 paddock at present about the engine freeze, with some figures wondering how the power pecking-order has moved when only limited alterations to the frozen block are allowed.

But McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said at Spa-Francorchamps: "I believe at the moment, by comparison to the various suspicions and concerns that we've had in the sport in the past, we're in a fairly healthy situation."

Source: GMM