Trulli: No qualms on racing title rivals

The Italian became a surprise protagonist in the championship battle after securing second place on the grid for tomorrow's race behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and two places ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

Trulli said he will be racing as hard as usual, despite the championship being at stake.

"I know that some people are fighting for it, but I race for myself and I race for my team, I race for points as I have raced all my life," said Trulli.

"With my experience I know I don't have to take too many risks, and if I go to the first corner on the inside line I wont' give up, but if I am behind I won't try a crazy attack.

"I will do my race as the most important thing is the final result. I just want to score the best possible race. I don't think we are going to have any problem and the championship does not mean anything for my mind."

The Toyota driver admitted he nearly did not race this weekend, as he was feeling poorly following a bout of flu ahead of yesterday's practice.

"I thought I was not going to make it for Friday because I was feeling really bad, but in this case after this result I have to thank for the whole team, the engineers, the doctor... they gave me everything I needed to be quick, and before coming to Brazil I knew this track very technical and very difficult where I could be strong and be very competitive.

"Now here I am, I played my cards in qualifying, saving tyres and getting ready for Q3. We have been pretty competitive all the way through. I am happy for the Toyota team and everybody, it shows the progress the team have made this season."

The result was Trulli's best qualifying performance of the season and his first front row start since the 2005 French Grand Prix.