Sebastien Buemi claims he could have made it into Q2 had it not been for traffic in qualifying for the German Grand Prix. The Swiss driver will start from 17th position after another difficult day for his Toro Rosso team.
Buemi admitted he is now hoping for a wet race tomorrow in order to have a chance of a good result.
"I think I could have got into Q2 if I had not got caught in traffic," said Buemi. "Other than that, I feel we did the best we could, given we are still waiting for our car updates. We improved the car this morning and it seemed competitive in comparison with the cars we are racing against.
"So I must admit, I am hoping for rain tomorrow as our car should go well in wet conditions. We will just have to keep pushing and see what happens."
Teammate Sebastien Bourdais -- working under the cloud of rumors suggesting this could be his last race for STR -- endured an even worse day as he continued to struggle with the handling of his car. The Frenchman finished at the bottom of the times.
"We knew we weren't quick enough this morning, when I was unhappy with the balance of the car, so this afternoon we tried something very different in terms of setup, using those that Sebastien was happy with this morning," he said. "But it didn't work out. It's a shame the rain did not come sooner, as I think we would have been more competitive in those conditions.
"To be honest, it doesn't make much difference if you're 17th or 20th and tomorrow, I will try my best and see what we can do."