Jolyon Palmer was keen to take the positives after another bout of cruel luck in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Palmer, fighting to stay in Formula 1, looked set for his best Saturday of the season and had the upper hand on Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

Seventh on the grid was up for grabs, but he was unable to set a time in Q3 after suffering a gearbox failure.

Unreliability has exacerbated Palmer's struggles in 2017, but this time the Englishman could take heart from a fine performance.

"It's such a shame as we were going great guns out there," he said.

"I think Q1/Q2 was easy through, and then both my laps in Q2 would have put seventh on the grid. 

"So to not even take part in Q3, it's disappointing to be tenth, but at least we have to try and stay there and not take a penalty."

"I've got to be happy with that qualifying really, compared to where we've been. I think the whole weekend has been really good since FP1."

Sunday's race represents an excellent opportunity for Palmer to record his first top-ten finish of the season, provided he escapes a penalty. 

"I was just happy with the car, had a great feeling all the way through. I think we've done a good job as a team," he added.

"We've just got to get it back in one piece tomorrow and get some points."