Stoddart Confident Yoong Will Qualify

Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart said on Friday that driver Alex Yoong has struggled with confidence problems following his failure to qualify for the British Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Yoong finished at the bottom of the times after Friday's opening practice session for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours as he returned to action.

The Malaysian had failed to qualify for the last race at Silverstone, his second DNQ of the season following on from Imola, and Stoddart said that he is only now getting his confidence back and he is confident he will qualify for Sunday's race.

"No driver can go through what he went through at Silverstone and not have a confidence problem," Stoddart said of Yoong, who returned to his homeland between races for PR work.

"It is up to us in the team to help him this weekend and I'm sure he will be in the 107 percent time here."

Yoong, who brings backing from the city of Kuala Lumpur, has not scored a point in Formula One since joining Minardi late last season and has been heavily criticised for his performances.