Trulli optimistic of points finish

Trulli will start the race from eighth position, the same place he occupied in the season-opening race in Australia, where he went on to finish in ninth.

This this the Italian is looking to score points.

"That was a good result and again we were able to exploit the car in qualifying trim, which has often been the case," said Trulli. "I missed some running this morning due to an electrical problem but I still had a better balance than yesterday. Now we have to see how we can do tomorrow.

"I'm confident because I've always done good races here in Malaysia and the car has always performed better here than at some other circuits. It's always hot here so this is an issue both for the drivers and the cars, as the heat can lead to mechanical and technical issues.

"But we were reliable in Australia so we can hope for more of the same. Obviously we now have to make the best of our positions and aim for more points."

Teammate Ralf Schumacher completed a promising day for Toyota by also repeating his Australian Grand Prix performance with the ninth fastest time.

"In general that was a good qualifying session for us and it's good to get both cars into the top 10 again," Schumacher said. "This weekend has been relatively difficult for me because there has not been much grip out there and I've had a few balance problems.

"That's why I've been struggling a bit but overall I'm happy. We've had no major problems and no reliability issues so we can look forward to tomorrow."