Ralf encouraged despite engine failure

The Japanese squad showed better pace after their dismal performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Schumacher making it into the fight for the top ten positions.

The German, however, was unable to even take to the track as his Toyota engine had expired before the end of the second session.

Despite the problem, Schumacher was left encouraged by his car's improved performance.

"It was a pity how things turned out today because we were showing much better pace than last week," said Schumacher. "It would have been good to be in the top ten here and I'm sure we could have improved further. We didn't have any warning about the engine until it suddenly let go.

"That can happen - especially at a tough circuit for engines like Sepang after we put in so much mileage at Bahrain. But at least our pace is looking a lot better. We expected that but now we can be sure about that fact as we can concentrate on tomorrow. Now I'm looking forward to a good race.

"We're starting at the back but we had some pretty good long runs in practice so we will try our best. It will be difficult but anything is possible."

Teammate Jarno Trulli was also happier than in Bahrain despite finishing down in 14th position.

"I'm obviously glad that we are showing a better performance here compared to Bahrain and especially that we're starting to get some information about how the tyres work," said Trulli. "Obviously this afternoon was a difficult one for me because I suffered from major understeer throughout the sessions.

"This morning during free practice I tried some different directions with my set-up for the team. That meant I was unable to prepare my set-up for qualifying and the race as I normally would. Nonetheless I hope we can race well tomorrow.

"We will analyse the data and I hope we can sort out the balance overnight. That way we can look forward to a better Sunday afternoon than we had in Bahrain."