Indeed, the outing marks a 'home' race for Toyota in more ways than one, with the big budget Japanese manufacturer owning the circuit and desperate to reward its throngs of loyal supporters with a strong double points-scoring result on race day, as it bids to claw back the five-point deficit currently separating the squad from chief rivals Renault in the hotly-contested battle over the coveted fourth spot in the constructors' world standings.

“This was a clear improvement compared to last year when we failed to get our cars into Q3,” affirmed the Cologne-based concern's senior general chassis manager Pascal Vasselon. “Overall the qualifying sessions went very well. In both Q1 and Q2 both drivers were very quick, with Timo the fastest of all in Q1 and Jarno less than three tenths off in Q2.

“Given that, we are slightly disappointed by the positions we had in Q3, but as usual it's really a matter of where people will stop tomorrow. Considering the situation with tyres, we feel that we have the ideal strategy for tomorrow. Both drivers did a good job and we are where we deserved to be.

“This morning we had the only wet conditions of the weekend – unlike last year – and we saw that even in the case of rain we are competitive. Now we must look to make the most of these positions in tomorrow's race in front of our home fans.”