Arrows takes a step forward

The team has endured a tough start to the season and has yet to score a point, but after a successful test at Silverstone last week and today's performance there are signs that things are starting to turn around.

"I think we made a definite step forward at Silverstone last week," said Frentzen, who was second quickest. "We are certainly going in the right direction set up-wise now. We are also very much enjoying an upgrade from Cosworth. Overall a constructive and trouble-free day and we hope for more of the same tomorrow."

Team-mate Bernoldi ended the day in sixth, but actually set a quicker first sector time than Michael Schumacher's pace-setting Ferrari. He was equally pleased with his car's performance.

"I had a good day today, improving the car steadily as we went through the sessions," he said. "The car feels good here. We did a lot of work with the tyres and have made our decision on those."

It has been almost a year since Arrows' last point, scored by Jos Verstappen at the Austrian GP.