Toyota back in top ten

Overall though, key figures within the Japanese manufacturer's F1 team were simply relieved to be back in the ballpark after a disastrous Australian Grand Prix saw the tricky TF104s lapped twice.

"I had a lot of understeer on my first run and after all the spins I have had this weekend, I was not 100 percent confident with the car," said da Matta. "We made some changes in the short break and the car was much improved for the second lap and I was able to push more.

"I am very happy to have scored a top ten grid result - the progress we have made since Melbourne is quite encouraging, and with a bit of luck, maybe we can pick up a point or two in the race tomorrow."

Panis, on the other hand was not so happy: "I am very disappointed with my lap time this afternoon. In the morning, the car balance and handling was good, so I am not really sure why the behaviour of the car changed so dramatically for the qualifying session. We have worked hard this weekend, so I am still hopeful for the race."

The team's technical director Mike Gascoyne had some sympathy for his French driver. "We made some balance changes to his [Panis's] car after the first qualifying run," he said, "but he then suffered from a lot of oversteer, which meant that he couldn't get the most out of the car on his second lap.

"Overall however it is pleasing to have closed the gap to the cars in front of us by quite a lot and we now have to look to get both TF104s to the chequered flag in tomorrow's race and hope to get some points."