Minardi Savour Promising Friday

Minardi team principal Paul Stoddart was delighted after was he said was one of his team's best starts to a Grand Prix weekend this season.

"This has to be one of the best Friday performances for Minardi in many a Grand Prix weekend," said Stoddart at the end of the day.

Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner was the quickest of the Minardi trio, posting the 20th fastest time in the afternoon, with test driver Bas Leinders winding up 24th and Italian Gianmaria Bruni 25th.

"I was particularly pleased for Bas at his 'home' Grand Prix, who finished a very credible P21 in the first session, while Zsolt's performance in the second session, which saw him ahead of all three Jordans, as well as his two teammates, was exceptional," he added.

"All three drivers produced commendably consistent lap times today, and we'd like to extend our thanks to Cosworth, for the fantastic engines, and to Bridgestone, for some great tyres."

Belgian Leinders was delighted after having the chance to drive a Formula One car in front of his home crowd.

"First of all, I would like to thank Paul and the team for the special effort they have made to give me a good-performing car for Spa," said Leinders. "I am pleased with the day's work in general, especially this morning. We encountered a problem this afternoon with tyre pressures, and although the situation improved in the end, we lost some set-up time as a result.

"Overall, though, it has definitely been a constructive day, and it was absolutely a great feeling to take Eau Rouge 'flat' in front of my home crowd."