Trulli still chasing Toyota first victory

It was a small case of déjà-vu with Toyota showing so well in qualifying and then fading in race conditions, something that former driver Ralf Schumacher experienced in Japan in 2005 and Jarno Trulli at Indianapolis the same year.

"We expected more from today but I'm happy with third place,” admitted Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina. “This is our third podium of the year [but] when we have conditions like these we must now aim for the centre of the podium, starting at the next race in Barcelona."

In fairness to the German-based team, the pole position for Trulli alongside team-mate Timo Glock was much more convincing than their previous efforts, but with a light fuel load both drivers were soon in the pits in Bahrain to relinquish their first and second positions to eventual winner Jenson Button.

"I am a little bit disappointed because I was waiting for the first win for Toyota," said Trulli after finishing in third position at the Sakhir circuit. "I was following my team-mate. I was going longer and then during the second stint we used a very long stint on the hard tyres, so I was trying to fight and it was really hard fighting with a lot.”

The second stint on the harder prime tyre cost Trulli and Toyota between half and a second a lap to their rivals and allowed Sebastian Vettel to take over second position in the second and final pitstop, something Trulli acknowledges.

“I was not extremely quick but competitive being on the hard tyres and then eventually Sebastian took the position after my last stop,” Trulli continued. “He was on the hard tyres and I was on the soft and I was pushing him. I was quicker but there was no way to overtake him, so that was how the race was."

Trulli was keen not to blame the team for switching him to the relatively slower prime tyre at the first pitstop, a decision that would cost him the runner-up spot in Bahrain, saying that it would be an issue he would go through with his engineers. “I think all in all the strategy wasn’t too bad but we needed a little bit more pace,” he concluded.