Saturday – Toyota was hoping for better…

With the 6th and 8th positions on the starting grid of the Australian Grand Prix, Toyota could have hoped for a few additional places. After good free practice sessions since Friday, the Japanese team had to somewhat restrain themselves today to better approach tomorrow’s race.

As always, when the drivers enter Q3, it’s all about strategy and Toyota, like several other teams, had to work hard not to lose track of what will be tomorrow, the first race of the season.

Jarno Trulli – 2nd and 20th after disqualification (8th qualified):

« It was a very difficult qualifying for me. I expected much more today, I am disappointed. Of course, I will fight with all my might during the race but I don’t know what to expect because the car was different between qualifying and practice. »

I don’t know why, but the tires didn’t heat up as expected and I slid several times. On top of that, I had some issues with the brakes!

Timo Glock – 8th and 19th after disqualification (6th qualified):

« We had some difficulties in the second and third practice sessions to find the right balance, but we worked hard to find a solution. We ensured that the work on the car resulted in the right setup. I think with a little more adjustment, we could have maybe aimed for the top of the grid. We are only a tenth behind the top three, but I remain positive about the result. »

« The car is behaving well, and we are not as late as that. I am very happy and reasonably confident. »

Pascal Vasselon – Deputy General Manager Chassis:

« Overall, the result is quite disappointing because we expected more from today’s qualifying session. We anticipated being higher up on the grid but, of course, strategy plays a role in Q3 and we couldn’t overlook this factor. »

It was easy to predict which tires to use in qualifying because the super soft compound is to be used first in the race, but that’s another matter.