Heikki Kovalainen believes he produced his best qualifying performance of the season in spite of the fact the Team Lotus driver will start from his habitual 19th position on the grid.
"Next to Hungary, I think I got as much as I possibly could out of the car and nailed every sector, so it's a good feeling to know when you've wrung as much as you can from a single lap," said Kovalainen. "We worked hard last night and today to find a balance that would suit the dry conditions today and tomorrow, and I think we've done that, so I'm feeling pretty good about the race.
"It'll be very interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out, and if we can keep up the pace from Suzuka we'll be there or thereabouts."
Teammate Jarno Trulli was less satisfied with his lap, feeling that there was more to come from his car.
"I think we did OK today, but there was definitely a bit more in the car," said the Italian, who lined up 20th. "This morning I had a really good setup and found a lot of grip, but this afternoon it just didn't feel quite the same so I wasn't able to get as much out of the car as I could.
"Still, I'm reasonably happy with where we are -- we're well ahead of the cars behind and close enough on race pace to a couple of the teams just ahead, so another good start tomorrow and we'll be OK."