Zoom A strong season from Timo Glock

Despite the best efforts of Timo Glock, the Chinese Grand Prix was a disappointing race for the Toyota team. With Glock using a one stop strategy, the German racer took the chequered flag in seventh position to gain two world championship points.

The team may now have lost out to Renault in the battle for fourth position in the constructors' championship, but for Glock the race was satisfying given his difficulties in qualification.

What is your reaction to seventh place and another two points in Shanghai?
"It was a satisfying result because before the race it had been a difficult weekend and we had a lot of work to do in order to improve the set-up. I wasn't happy after qualifying but I pushed really hard in the race and we had a perfect strategy. To finish in the points when you start 12th with Formula 1 as competitive as it is at the moment is not easy so I am happy."

What challenges did you face earlier in the weekend?
"Starting from Friday we didn't really have a good balance in the car and I just didn't seem to get it quite right. At the previous races in Fuji and Singapore we were consistent in terms of a reasonable pace from Friday onwards, but not in China. It was a bit strange because the track should have suited us pretty well. In particular I found that I couldn't get the best out of the soft tyres, which explains my qualifying position. "

Did you get a strong start?
"It was not bad but Rubens Barrichello, who started behind me, got ahead in the confusion at the first corner. Jarno was hit by Sebastien Bourdais which meant that I made up two places there, but you don't want to be doing that at the expense of your team-mate."

Did you get into a good rhythm straight away?
"It was quite difficult actually because we had gone for a heavy one-stop strategy and, in fact, I did the longest opening stint of all, 32 laps. It meant that the car was very heavy in the beginning and I struggled a bit to warm up the tyres. There was nothing I could do to stop Mark Webber coming past on the second lap because he had 20 laps less fuel than me! At the end of the first stint I had a light car but I couldn't make the most of it because I was stuck behind Nick Heidfeld. I was only eight seconds behind Robert Kubica at the finish so I think it's possible we might have beaten him to sixth."

Was a one-stop strategy the right decision?