De la Rosa Happy with Top Ten Spot

Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa was delighted after his best qualifying performance with the Jaguar Racing team.

De la Rosa, who joined the Milton Keynes outfit at this year's Spanish Grand Prix, was able to take full advantage of an improved R2 chassis to place himself in ninth place, outqualifying his teammate Eddie Irvine.

The Spaniard was happy with his result but claimed he could have finished higher up the grid if not for the yellow flags in the dying moments of the session.

"I am very pleased to have got my first top ten qualifying place with Jaguar Racing," said de la Rosa. "I hardly altered the car throughout the session with the only change being a slight wing adjustment. Apart from that, the car worked perfectly today and had it not been for the yellow flags at the end, I could probably have finished a couple of places higher."

Irvine, who had topped the timesheets on Friday, had to settle for eleventh place, but the Ulsterman was confident of gaining places in tomorrow's race.

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed not to have qualified higher today," admitted Irvine. "My last run was by far my best, but I had to abort it as I entered the stadium section.

"I'm also at a loss to understand why I'm 11th yet come tomorrow's race, I know our pace will be much quicker than those guys around me and it's frustrating not knowing how to push this car further up the grid in qualifying."