Toyota drivers rue lack of grip

Schumacher and Trulli qualified in 17th and 18th positions after struggling with the handling of their Toyotas in the wet conditions.

A red flag near the end of the session didn't help either, spoiling both their flying laps.

"That was a difficult afternoon for all of us as it was a real struggle for grip out there," said Schumacher. "Still, both Jarno and I were a bit unlucky with the red flag coming out at the wrong time, just when we were nearing the end of our fastest laps.

"The track got worse over the course of Q1 and by the end it was too wet to improve our times. There was obviously a lot of traffic too so there was a lot of spray, but that's just the way it is. If you're in the middle of the pack or at the back of a long line of traffic then it is very hard to see anything.

"But the fact is that in these conditions the other tyre competitor looked strong so we will have a lot of work tonight to prepare for tomorrow. The car was working well as we showed in the morning. It will be a long race tomorrow so hopefully the weather will suit us better and we can move up."

Trulli believes he could have made it to the second session if not for the red flag caused by Tiago Monteiro, who stopped on track with three minutes to go.

"Of course we were not as competitive today as we expected," he said. "Still, I could have made it through to Q2 but for the red flag which came out while I was on my quickest lap.

"Nevertheless, it was clear that we were lacking grip. We went out on the standard wet tyres for our early runs, before switching to full wets for the final runs as the track got wetter.

"We were right at the limit so it was a difficult choice to make. By the time we went out after the red flag the track was very wet and there was no way to improve our time. Obviously we still have some work to do on our performance in these conditions. Tomorrow could still be a wet race so it certainly won't be easy for us but we'll try our best."