Excited Baumgartner Looking to Finish Maiden GP

Zsolt Baumgartner is looking forward to making his Grand Prix debut tomorrow after becoming a late replacement for injured Jordan driver Ralph Firman.

Firman was ruled out after being flown to hospital with concussion and a heel injury following a huge crash in Saturday's free practice.

Baumgartner, 22, had taken part in private testing as Jordan's third driver on Friday but lacked a necessary super-license. However, the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the problem had been resolved after Jordan requested the substitution.

Baumgartner, Hungary's first Formula One driver, qualified 19th on his Grand Prix debut and is now looking forward to his home race.

"It went quite well, I was quicker than Kiesa, although I was imagining to be in front of both Minardis, I'm not that far off Verstappen," said the Hungarian. "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 driver to race in Formula One 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."

The Hungarian driver finished almost three second behinds Italian teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, who wound up 13th quickest before it was announced he will drive for Sauber next season.

"It's been quite a good qualifying for us, with maybe the quickest lap of the weekend for me," he said. "We did a very good job, the lap was clean and the car balance was good. We did our best."