Renault, Toyota mirror Jaguar trouble

Despite higher temperatures in the afternoon, the performance levels of the French rubber appear to have dropped on some cars. While the McLaren and Williams cars all qualified in the top six behind the Bridgestone-shod Ferraris, only eighth-placed Jarno Trulli was satisfied from the Renault, Toyota and Jaguar teams.

Jenson Button said: "I'm not pleased at all with 14th. I couldn't find the right set-up on the car: first it would understeer, then get oversteery towards the end of the lap. It feels like I've lost grip with the higher temperatures - I had the same problem yesterday. It's going to be a tough day tomorrow."

Toyota's Allan McNish said his car's balance had been improved, but also complained of understeer.

His team-mate Mika Salo said: "The car this morning was relatively good and we only made minor changes in the afternoon. But in qualifying the car completely lost grip and my best time was over half a second slower than this morning. The wheel sensor broke on my final run so we lost a final opportunity."

McNish out-qualified Salo for only the second time this season. They will line up 16th and 19th respectively.