The German struggled to match the pace of his BMW Sauber teammate Robert Kubica until he was able to find a solution during the middle part of the season.
Heidfeld, however, had poor races in Hungary and Valencia, where he finished outside the point-scoring positions.
But the BMW Sauber driver reckons his result at Spa shows his work has paid off.
"I'm happy with the qualifying result, and for me the weekend has gone well so far," said Heidfeld. "It wasn't bad on Friday, this morning I was quickest and fifth was the best possible result in qualifying.
"For me it is very important to know the work we have done has paid off. A couple of weeks ago we found solutions to some problems, and for me this meant an improvement, but then came the race in Valencia which was surprisingly bad.
"Then at last week's Monza test we were able to learn something more. I have the feeling we are a little closer to McLaren and Ferrari here.
"However, I think in the race it will be very difficult for us to keep up with their pace. Tomorrow the weather conditions will be an important factor and a good start for me will be crucial. I will start from the clean side of the track."
Heidfeld qualified three places ahead of Kubica, who had a tough day and complained about the lack of grip.
"Qualifying was difficult for me although the conditions were the best so far over the course of the weekend," the Pole said. "The track was completely dry, but I have had problems with the balance of the car all weekend and I am lacking overall grip.
"This makes driving quite difficult, especially here in Spa where you have a lot of long corners."
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