De La Rosa will replace Montoya for the French Grand Prix as Montoya moves on to NASCAR.

Neither of the two Toro Rosso drivers were able to make it into the second knockout qualifying session. Liuzzi ended up in 18th position with teamate Scott Speed just ahead of him in 17th. Here is was Liuzzi had to say about his qualifying pace: "This was a difficult session and the car felt different to the way it did in the morning. On top of this, we misjudged the tactic for my car a bit and we had not left enough time. So when I went out on new tyres I missed getting my timed lap into the 15 minutes by about ten seconds, so although it was quicker it did not count. We did not change anything from the morning, so now we have to find out why it felt different." Speed had similar comments: "We did not do anything wrong in terms of my strategy for tackling the session. But I had traffic on both my quick laps. Basically, we have not shown good pace here since the start of the weekend and that shows up most in qualifying. In terms of aero, we are losing out down the straight, but that is partly due to the restriction we run under to comply with the rules." Both drivers are obviously hopeful of bettering their position during the race. However, some of the heavier hitters like Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello will be starting behind them. Due to the many engine changes this weekend, both drivers will advance further up the grid. It appears Speed will start the race from 13th position.

Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber ended up third and fifth respectively in Saturday's qualifying run. However, since Michael Schumacher had the fourth fastest time, Webber will move up one grid spot due to Schumacher's engine replacement. This makes for an all Williams-Cosworth second row, just behind Fisichella (P1) and Button (P2) on the first row. Nico's stunning performance this last weekend in Bahrain has prompted many to question Webber's comparitive speed. It appears that with the two starting on the same row, we may be able to have a clearer picture of their relative performance. Either way, this weekend appears to be shaping up rather nicely after a double points finish last week in Bahrain.

Klein has qualified for the Malaysian grand prix in 9th place, but is still using the questionable Ferrari engine from last week in Bahrain. All three other drivers (Schumacher, Massa, and Coulthard) have had to change engines due to failure. In fact, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is on his second engine since the Bahrain GP. So, there is some question to the reliability of the Ferrari engines. We currently are not aware of the exact nature of the problem, but cooling has been an issue with the Red Bull team over winter testing and there have been rumors of blow-by issues as well with the Ferrari powerplants. Whatever the case may be, Klein is surely anxious about this weekend because of these issues.

Coulthard's direct quote was, "Unless it was having sex, I can't imagine wanting to do anything in a sauna." Tempuratures have exceeded 100 degrees F over this grand prix weekend. On top of the heat, there still remains a threat for rain throughout the weekend.