Trulli surprised to make top ten

Toyota driver Trulli will start the race from ninth position after another brilliant qualifying showing from the Italian, who said he did not expect to be so fast.

"It is great to make it into the top ten again but it was obviously a very tough battle to get there this time," said Trulli.

"The gaps between the drivers were very small so it was a fight to the last moment in every lap. I wasn't really expecting to get into Q3 but I was happy with my laps and with the result.

"I got the most out of the car and P9 is a good position to start from tomorrow. The weekend has actually gone pretty smoothly up to now and the team has worked hard to get the job done.

"Brakes and tyres are playing a major role this weekend and now we will have to get it right from the start tomorrow and try to get away without problems. Then we can push hard to convert this into a good result at my home race."

The day was a lot worse for teammate Ralf Schumacher, who missed the first cut for the fourth time this season after failing to match Trulli's pace.

The German will start from 18th.

"That was a very tough day. It was a very tight session, with many cars putting in similar times around the mark to qualify for Q2. Just as yesterday Jarno and I put in similar times but he made it and I just missed out. Still, we were not as competitive as we had hoped.

"It's been a hard weekend so far for us here at this circuit. Our straight line speed is fine but braking is also important and you have to be able to ride the kerbs, which remains a difficulty.

"But it will be a long race and we still have some things to sort out with our tyres so maybe that can help us tomorrow. It will be a difficult afternoon from 18th but I will try my best and see what we can do."