Speed mystified by lack of pace

"Since yesterday, we have been struggling here and I'm not quite sure why," said the Toro Rosso driver after qualifying in 18th position.

"It's disappointing not to get to Q2 and tomorrow is going to be a tough afternoon.

"We have made steps forward with the car, but it has only served to keep us where we were as the others have all moved forward too. It is frustrating. We will need a bit of luck tomorrow to get something out of this situation."

The American outqualified Tonio Liuzzi, who was not running the new aero devices used by his teammate.

The Italian will start from 19th place.

"I think that all things considered, this position is probably a fair reflection of where we are," said Liuzzi. "At the most, Scott and me might have swapped places, even if I knew I was at a slight disadvantage to him, as he was running some new aero components.

"I also had problems with the brakes since yesterday that we have been unable to solve. In fact on my first run I locked up my front wheels in a big way at turn 1 and that meant this run was over.

"Then, on my second run I think track conditions were a bit worse for everyone and this was a particular problem for us as I also had traction problems.

"But the brakes were the main thing. The soft tyres grain over a long distance, but the harder ones are much more consistent, so I think strategy will be a key factor for the race."