Toyota tops speed trap times

Rain might have spoiled Melbourne qualifying but not before most teams had managed a couple of dry runs and Panasonic Toyota Racing had pulled off an admirable feat - the grand prix debutant's cars were quickest of all through Melbourne's fastest speed trap

Although wing settings differ between the constructors, the Williams-BMWs were renowned for the strength of their engines last year and regularly featured at the top of the speed trap figures. In Australia, however, Mika Salo recorded 193.43mph through the trap, while Williams men Ralf Schumacher and Juan Montoya recorded 192.99mph and 192.31mph respectively. And, to emphasis their strength, fourth quickest was Allan McNish on 191.94mph.

Everyone at Toyota was content with their debut qualifying session, except driver Mika Salo, who said: "We basically screwed up because we had the information about the rain but we didn't get a second run in. My first had been conservative, just to get the car into the race, and I never had the chance to push hard."

Team manager Ange Pasquale, however, was mildly amused by unexpected problems thrown up by qualifying.

"Red flags, interruptions, rain," he sighed. "You could say that it was a good learning experience and we got a few things down in the notebook. In truth, though, I honestly think it was good experience that we will gain from. I know this is Australia but it really was all a bit upside down with the weather. Maybe we'll get 50 degrees and sunshine at Spa!"