Trulli baffled by qualifying struggle

"I was expecting qualifying to be a bit difficult but not as bad as that," said Trulli after qualifying down in 18th position.

"This morning the car felt reasonable even if we were a little short of grip.

"But it was much worse in qualifying; I really had no grip and there was nothing I could do. I just kept pushing and took a few more risks than normal but it didn't work out.

"I don't know why we struggled so much; it is a mystery to me. For the race tomorrow I can just do my best and see what happens."

Team-mate Timo Glock also had a disappointing day after finishing in 13th position, the German struggling to keep his tyres in good shape.

"That wasn't a good result," Glock said. "We struggled a bit for pace this morning in the short third practice and in the end we were just a couple of tenths away from being in the top 10, which is a pity.

"I was having trouble in first qualifying but in the second session the car wasn't too bad until the final corners when the rear tyres dropped off quite a lot. I was pushing to the maximum but the tyres didn't really survive.

"So we have to start again from 13th as we did in Hungary and try to repeat what we did there by finding a way to get into the points. It will be a difficult task but I will do everything I can."