Minardi mixes it with Jordan

" I was very pleased to finish my first Formula One qualifying session after the problem we had in Melbourne," said Bruni, "and I will admit I was just a little bit nervous before qualifying started.

"On my second qualifying run, I had good times in the first two sectors, but then made a mistake in the last sector and missed an apex, which probably cost me two-tenths of a second. Everyone on the team did a really good job today, and although I'm sure it will be a tough race, we will try our best."

Baumgartner was not quite as happy with his performance: "I'm not too happy with this afternoon's result, as we did a faster lap this morning. I made a mistake in the third sector on what should have been my fastest lap and lost quite a bit of time as a result. I really thought we could have done better.

"It's good that we're starting in front of three other drivers tomorrow, though, and my hope now is for a reliable car and a positive race result."

Team principal Paul Stoddart is not used to this many cars being behind his on the grid, but he is being realistic: "All things said, I think we saw a good performance today from both drivers. We've been there or thereabouts all weekend when it comes to splitting the Jordans, and in reality, although we also have a BAR and a Renault starting behind us tomorrow, it's clear who we're racing."