Trulli Laments Lack of Grip

The Toyota driver, who had already raced for the Japanese squad in Brazil last season, wound up ninth despite struggling to cope with the bumps on track.

Trulli rued the lack of grip, and also admitted he was wary of the possible weather changes.

"I enjoy driving here because Interlagos is a technical circuit, but there was not much grip out there today," said Trulli. "This was one of the two races I did for Toyota last year and even with the old car we went pretty well, finishing just outside the points.

"We would obviously like to do better this time but this weekend could still be decided by the weather. Rain remains a possibility so that will be the determining factor for our decisions for qualifying and the race."

Teammate Ralf Schumacher also struggled for grip, the German finishing almost a second behind Trulli, in 18th position.

"We had no particular problems as we completed our usual programme of work today, but it was a struggle to find any grip because it was so slippery," said Schumacher. "The track was pretty dirty this morning but it improved during the day so we will have to look carefully at the data tonight.

"We will be hoping for another strong points finish on Sunday so that we can close the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship."