Toyota Boss Laments Bad Luck

The Italian driver was running in third place with less then eight laps to the end when he suffered a massive brake failure at the end of the back straight.

Trulli managed to avoid an accident but was forced to retire.

"Both drivers put in fantastic efforts today, but as a team we were very unfortunate," said Tomita. "Jarno made a great start, he drove well all afternoon and he was heading for the podium until he suffered a brake failure.

"We had lost all the telemetry on his car shortly after half-distance so we couldn't monitor what was happening on the car. He reported back no problems so we'll have to see what happened when we get the car back."

Trulli's teammate Ralf Schumacher enjoyed a better day after finishing in sixth position, keeping Toyota in third place in the Constructors' Championship, tied on points with Williams.

"Ralf had a bad start and lost positions so it was difficult to move forward with his strategy," Tomita added. "He did a very good race, and did well to make up some places in the first laps. During the safety car period he ended up the lead car when Montoya pitted on the instructions from race control.

"From a lap back all he could do was stay in sixth for three valuable points. The good thing is that Toyota again showed its strong performance to the world and we will continue to challenge next week at Indianapolis."