Panasonic Toyota Racing drivers Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher will face a tough German Grand Prix after qualifying 9th and 12th respectively for round 12 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at Hockenheim.

Trulli has only qualified outside the top five once this season, in Canada, but today found himself half a second away from fifth position on the grid, with a lap in 1m15.532s. Team mate Schumacher went round the 4.574km circuit in 1m15.699s.

Trulli, however, thinks that a points finish is still possible in the race.

“I’m not too uncomfortable with where we are,” he said. “We were not among the quickest in practice but I think there could be quite a variation in race strategy. I also had a slight problem with my brakes and I wasn’t 100% confident about pushing to the limit, so it wasn’t the greatest qualifying lap I have driven this year.”

Schumacher, meanwhile, added: “My lap was clean and the times in the middle of the grid are close. The result will be all about race set-up and strategy. I am happy with the tyre choice as well and even if we are not in the hunt for a podium, we should be able to score some points.”

Pole position was claimed by championship challenger Kimi Raikkonen, whose West McLaren Mercedes lapped in 1m14.320s, ahead of Jenson Button’s Lucky Strike BAR Honda (1m14.759s) and Fernando Alonso’s Mild Seven Renault (1m14.904s). Giancarlo Fisichella (1m14.927s) was only fractionally slower than his Renault team mate, while Michael Schumacher lapped in 1m15.006s with the first of the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro cars. Mark Webber’s BMW Williams F1 Team entry completed the top six with a lap in 1m15.070s.

The weather forecast for Sunday is mixed and so the race could see a difficult afternoon where the teams are rewarded for quick-thinking or, indeed, a slice of good fortune. So far, however, the weather has been dry throughout and nobody has had a chance to evaluate their speed on wet tyres.

Panasonic Toyota Racing’s Technical Director, Chassis, Mike Gascoyne said in summary: “Compared with some of the excellent qualifying performances we have already had this season we have to be slightly disappointed, but it was a very close session and I think that there could be quite a variance in strategy up and down the grid. If you look at the times, there is less than 0.3s between 7th place and Ralf’s 12th place. We have concentrated on the best race strategy and I think it is a realistic aim to get both drivers into the points tomorrow.”