Baumgartner aiming for a finish

Baumgartner received the opportunity following Ralph Firman's heavy crash in practice this morning. The rookie was 19th fastest in his first F1 qualifying session after a clean and tidy lap, although a rookie error likely cost him the opportunity to get ahead of Jos Verstappen's Minardi.

"It went quite well," said Baumgartner. "I was quicker than Kiesa, although I was imagining to be in front of both Minardis, I'm not that far off Verstappen. I'm happy that I didn't make any mistakes on the track and this is a great opportunity for me. I'm upset about what happened to Ralph and pleased he's okay. I'm excited about the race tomorrow and want to finish without any mistakes.

"I'm the first Hungarian to race in F1 and that's a big aim for my country because we've had a Grand Prix for eighteen years. Everyone's dream will come true now but I didn't think it would happen this soon, and at our home Grand Prix!"

However, the rookie's debut qualifying run wasn't entirely error free as Gary Anderson, Jordan's director of race and test engineering, noted.

"Unfortunately for Zsolt he accidentally switched to the fuel-saving [engine] map on his timed lap rather than his in-lap," said Anderson. "It's an easy mistake for a novice to make with so much going on - that possibly cost him a second."