Toyota Duo Disappointed after Poor Showing

Finn Mika Salo was a disappointed man after failing to shine in qualifying for Sunday's French Grand Prix, posting only the 16th quickest time of the day.

"Obviously I am not happy about my position, but I think that we got the best out of the car as it is at the moment," said Salo. "I have been having traction problems with the car since the first session yesterday, which have been improving, but we have not yet been able to find a complete solution."

The Toyota driver had impressed in Friday's practice at the Magny-Cours circuit, posting a promising ninth fastest time with the Michelin-shod TF102. On Saturday, however, neither Salo nor his teammate Allan McNish were capable of repeating the feat.

McNish was also downbeat after qualifying in 17th position, only ahead of the two Minardis of Mark Webber and Alex Yoong.

"A disappointing session," said the Scot. "I honestly thought we would be a little bit more competitive in qualifying trim, but overall that was about the limit of where the car has been all weekend.

"On a more positive note, we worked mainly on race set-up in the free practice sessions, so I think we will have a better handling car for the race tomorrow."