Jarno Trulli was satisfied with his sixth-place qualifying effort in Abu Dhabi and is confident he will be a strong points contender on Sunday.
The Italian, who looks likely to leave Toyota this winter after ore than five years with the team, briefly snatched pole in Q3 before being shuffled down the order in the dying moments.
“It was a difficult session because it was an extremely hard fight in hot conditions; the lap times were really close despite it being a long circuit,” he said.
“I felt I got it right in each session and I am happy with sixth place.
“It's fun to be fighting at the front of the grid so it was a nice experience again for me.
“Obviously you always want to be even higher but we have done a good job so far this weekend and we deserved to be in the top six.
“The car feels strong and I think we are looking pretty good for the race so I'm looking forward to the fight.”
Team-mate Kamui Kobayashi, who is substituting for the injured Timo Glock, again did a creditable job to qualify 12th for only his second grand prix.
The 23-year-old Japanese driver, who caught the eye with some feisty (some said over-zealous) wheel-to-wheel racing in Brazil, is now setting his sights on a points finish.
“I was hoping to be in the top 10 here but it was my first time in Formula 1 to qualify in dry conditions, so I needed to get used to it,” he said.
“Free practice has gone well all weekend and the car felt good.
“Qualifying wasn't easy but in the end I was only a tenth or so away from the top 10, so for my first time qualifying in the dry it's not bad.
“I have been trying to focus on my race pace this weekend so I am quite confident for tomorrow.
“I will try my best and I hope to fight for the points again; we'll see what we can do.”