Toyota form surprises Kovalainen

German Ralf Schumacher qualified in a season-best sixth position, with teammate Jarno Trulli down in 10th.

Kovalainen wound up seventh behind Schumacher, and he reckons it will not be easy to beat the German in tomorrow's race.

"When you come out of qualifying, you always think you could have done a little better on the last timed lap - and for me, I felt I made a small mistake that cost me some time," said Kovalainen.

"But once again, our result this afternoon shows we are heading in the right direction, as I got into Q3 for the third consecutive time.

"Toyota were the surprise for us this afternoon, as they have been much stronger than they were in France - and we will need a good strategy to beat them. For me, the first target for tomorrow is to get round the first lap without any problems, unlike in Magny-Cours.

"Then we need a consistent performance from the car all through the stints, and a good strategy. I'm confident we will have that, and that we can make up positions in the race."

Kovalainen's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella will start from eighth position after problems with his brakes hindered him during his final flying lap.

"It was a very tight session all the way through the field, but it was very clean for us, with no problems and the car working well," he said.

"My only problem came on the most important lap, the last timed one, when a small problem with the brakes meant I missed the line through turns four and five - which probably cost me a couple of tenths.

"Looking ahead to the race, the car performed consistently on the long runs yesterday, so I think we can feel positive for tomorrow afternoon. After that, we will have to race hard, and try to take points away from BMW."