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Marshals' mistake costs Trulli chance to improve

Jordan's Jarno Trulli will start from a season best fourth place in Canada - but believes he could have been even higher

The Italian was lying third when the qualifying session was red flagged with less than a couple of minutes from the chequered flag after Sauber's Nick Heidfeld crashed out. Trulli was mistakenly called into parc ferme by marshals, but by the time the error was discovered it was too late for him to be re-fuelled and guided out onto the circuit for another flying lap.

The 26-year-old's frustration was compounded when McLaren's David Coulthard snatched third spot in the final seconds of the session.

"I have mixed feelings about qualifying," said Trulli, whose previous best this season was fifth place. "I am very happy to be on the second row of the grid, but also upset that I was denied the chance to improve my position on my last timed run.

"The sessions was red flagged on my last out lap, and wrongly thinking that the session was over, the marshals called me in to parc ferme.

"I was in third place at this time, but this delay meant there was not enough time to re-fuel and get out to complete the out lap before the flag. At least starting from fourth on the grid I have a good chance to do well in the race."

Trulli's temporary team mate Ricardo Zonta qualified 12th having been called up after Heinz-Harald Frentzen withdrew complaining of dizziness and headaches following a practice crash and the lingering effects of a heavy shunt in Monaco two week's ago.

"Given the little practice time I have had this weekend, 12th position is not bad," said Jordan's test driver after his first outing since his final race with BAR in last season's climax in Malaysia. "I was gaining confidence with each run and improving my lap times, but on my last timed run I tried to push harder, but unfortunately made a mistake on the first corner so lost my chance to improve further.

"It would have been good to qualify higher, but I was possibly being a little over cautious so as not to make any mistakes."

Zonta, who lost vital time after sliding into the gravel in practice, added: "The car feels very good and is suited to this track. As my confidence grows I know I can get more out of the car and have a good potential to finish well in the race."

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