Ralf: Toyota looking stronger

Struggling with a lack of grip, both Schumacher and teammate Jarno Trulli had a torrid time at the Sakhir event.

With no time to test before this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix the team expected to continue with their problems.

Schumacher, however, reckons the performance of the car is much better at Sepang.

The German finished as 17th quickest today.

"Today we completed more running than usual because we are still trying to find out how to make the most of our package," said Schumacher. "We've been struggling for grip and the Bahrain weekend showed us we still have a way to go. But today the car felt much better and the grip level has increased quite a lot.

"The traction and the tyres seem to be working better with this track surface and the heat. I was caught in traffic on my last run so we could have further improved our time. Our aim this weekend has to be to collect information for future races but we have already collected some useful data. So that's an encouraging start."

Trulli, 11th, agreed with his teammate that Toyota are looking more competitive.

"We spent the two sessions trying to collect more data on our new package," said Trulli. "Our grip level is not yet there and although we look slightly more competitive than in Bahrain we still have work to do. Our challenge is to get the car and tyres working together.

"For that we need to carry out a detailed analysis, but of course there has been no chance to test since Bahrain so we will have to continue that work this weekend.

"I am sure we have not seen the true potential of our car yet. We understand the problem but the solution is not straightforward. We are obviously looking to have a better race than we had in Bahrain but the important thing for us is to spend these early race weekends getting to the root of the problem."