Toyota not satisfied with performance

Toyota was out-performed by Jaguar today, and so was the slowest of the Michelin-shod teams at Magny-Cours, with Panis qualifying 10th and Cristiano da Matta 13th.

"Although Olivier achieved the team's fourth top 10 qualifying result in a row, reaching our qualifying objective, I am a little disappointed because we were aiming for slightly higher positions," said Takahashi. "Both drivers did a good job, but the track had less grip than we had anticipated. Tomorrow, we are opting for different strategies for Olivier and Cristiano and we will again be fighting for championship points. From 10th and 13th, I believe we are well-placed to do just that."

Despite Takahashi's dismay, Panis was more upbeat about the situation: "I'm happy because starting from the top 10 again is a very positive result for the team. I expected a little bit better, but the track temperature changed a lot since warm-up and even during the session, which made grip levels lower. We should be optimistic - I am in the top 10 for the third race in a row and now we have to turn that into a good race finish tomorrow in the points."

Da Matta added: "We have taken a slightly different strategy to usual, with more emphasis on tomorrow's race, rather than this afternoon's qualifying session. With this in mind, I am quite pleased with my lap."