Mixed Feelings for Toyota Drivers

With Ricardo Zonta topping the times in a standard TF105, Schumacher was left encouraged by the fact that his new car was sixth fastest in the rain-affected second session - with Trulli just one place back.

"The B car is a slight improvement on the TF105 that we have been running this year and the balance felt okay today so it should be good for Sunday," said Schumacher.

"Another reason for bringing the TF105B to the last two races was to put in some work on the car as a preparation for next season. We have a long period ahead with no testing so this is very useful work."

Trulli added: "I'm not yet happy with the balance of the B car but we have brought it here because it looks more consistent over long runs.

"The front end is likely to be used at the start of next season so this is a good chance to do some early trouble-shooting. It's still a young car so we need to find out how to get the best out of it."

Zonta's session topping time in the afternoon came after a frustrating morning, where he had suffered from excessive oversteer and an electronic problem.