Arrows drivers happy to qualify

For much of the one-hour session Frentzen was towards the front of the midfield pack, but a late bout of improvements dropped the German to 16th, albeit just half a second behind Mika Salo in eighth.

"We tried very hard today but unfortunately on my last run I caught traffic," he admitted. "It was a very tight session so just one tenth of a second can make a difference of three or four places. You have to get everything together for the last run, as that is the one that counts. I had three clear runs and then on the one that mattered I had traffic."

Bernoldi actually held provisional pole for a brief time, but that was by virtue of being the first driver to set a time. By the end of the hour he had slipped to 17th, three tenths slower than Frentzen.

"I'm pleased that we were able to improve the car with each run today," he said. "We are still struggling slightly for optimum balance in qualifying trim but I am hopeful for a good race tomorrow."