Trulli: fifth proves Toyota's progress

The Italian had been adamant before the season-opener that Toyota would take a step forward in 2008, and although early battery problems ended his Melbourne race, he has been quick all weekend in Malaysia.

Trulli set the pace in Q1 today, then lapped within a tenth of the McLarens on the way to fifth place in Q3.

"This has been quite a satisfying weekend so far," he said. "We have run without problems and the car has performed well and looked competitive.

"Today's lap time just shows that it's a big improvement compared to last year's car. So we are all very pleased with this result and it is definitely looking good for tomorrow's race.

"We just have to make sure that we finish the race without trouble because I believe we can score good points."

Trulli's teammate Timo Glock also made it through to Q3, and will start 10th, despite being less happy with his car than the Italian.

"I'm happy to have made Q3 but that was a difficult qualifying for me," Glock said.

"In free practice this morning I had a better feeling for the option tyres in a qualifying set-up but this afternoon I struggled to get the most out of them again. It was difficult to find the right set-up for it.

"In the end I was happy that I had a really good lap and a really good last sector to get into the top ten. Now we have to see how the weather goes but if it's dry it will be hard for me to get the most out of the tyres.

"I'm keeping a lid on my expectations. Hopefully we can finish in the top ten or break into the points. That would be a good result."