Solid start for Toyota

It came as a welcome relief to the team which had both cars disqualified at the Canadian GP last weekend for brake duct irregularities. Cristiano da Matta was the quickest of the trio in seventh place.

"We have worked mainly on tuning the settings on the chassis and we also did the tyre comparison, which is the priority on Friday," said the Brazilian. "It seems quite clear to me what compound of tyre we need to use, but we will only really know where we stand tomorrow because every team does different things on the opening day. I think the biggest thing we need to look at is the traction."

Team-mate Olivier Panis was less than a tenth down on da Matta in eighth but the Frenchman is certain his car is capable of an even quicker time.

"I am quite happy that all three of us drivers were able to get into the top ten," he said. "This is particularly encouraging as I know that I still have some margin for improvement because I was held up by traffic on my quick lap. The team did a very good job and I am looking forward to tomorrow."