Toyota has realistic expectations

Expectations were raised when Mika Salo scored points in two of the first three races, but the team has struggled recently as its midfield rivals have upped their pace.

"As I've said all along this year, we mustn't raise our expectations too high," said team boss Ove Andersson. "We had a couple of good results early on, which changed people's hopes, but every race this year is about learning. As we get nearer to the end of our first season, reliability is once again my priority."

Salo shares his boss's realism, but is at least looking forward to the challenge of racing on the historic circuit.

"Spa is surely the best thing about Belgium," he said. "It's a wonderful racetrack - one of my favourites - and I hope that it will suit the characteristics of the TF102 more than was the case in Hungary, where we struggled in terms of pace. Every race is very tough at the moment because the standard of the opposition is so high. Having said that, we will continue to do our absolute best."

For team-mate Allan McNish, Spa presents an ideal opportunity to stake his claim for another year with the team, and unlike many of the tracks he's raced on this year, it's one he knows well.

"I can't wait to get started," he said. "Our engine is quite strong, which should give us a good race car, and the chassis should be better suited to this track than to others. We only have four races left this season, so we must take every opportunity that presents itself."