Ex-world champion praises Trulli's sixth place

Trulli won his first points of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing sixth to give him a solitary championship point, and put him level with team-mate Olivier Panis in 10th p[lace in the drivers standings.

'After an excellent start, he was always in a points-scoring position and battled well at the end to contain Damon Hill and Rubens Barrichello,' said Prost.

His driver agreed about the tough last laps, saying 'This point is the best way I can repay the team for all their good work this weekend with me and the car.

'It was not easy as I was always under pressure. The final laps were very 'hot' for me but we succeeded in preserving my tyres and keeping my position.'

The result can be attributed to a mix of driver, team and car with a dose of luck; Trulli made an excellent start to jump ahead of Barrichello, Frentzen and Alesi, and held off increasing pressure throughout the race.

A reasonable strategy enabled him to keep the place and the Prost-Peugeot AP02 proved itself capable if lacking the ultimate pace of Jordan and Stewart.

Trulli's cause was aided by the demise of Heinz Harald Frentzen's Jordan and subsequently by the leaders lapping the pack of cars tussling for sixth, which kept the pressure off Trulli long enough for him to hold to the end.