Stoddart Hopeful Ahead of Final Qualifying

Minardi boss Paul Stoddart is hopeful his drivers will be able to repeat on Saturday their performance from today's first qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Dutchman Jos Verstappen and British rookie Justin Wilson finished in a season-best 16th and 17th positions in today's session, outqualifying both cars from the Toyota team and the Sauber of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who failed to set a time.

"The drivers can be proud of their achievement today, as they both put in faultless performances that culminated in them finishing 16th and 17th in the first qualifying session," said Stoddart.

"The cars ran faultlessly, and Jos and Justin definitely got the most from their machinery. Hopefully, we can repeat this performance on Saturday, and then look forward to a challenging, and rewarding race on Sunday."

Stoddart, whose cars are sporting a new livery in Monaco thanks to the increased investment of Trust, was thankful to the Dutch company, who became the team's main sponsor last week.

"I'm particularly grateful to Michel Perridon of Trust, for his continuing support of the team," he said. "Sponsors such as Trust International are invaluable when you consider the massive budgets that many of our competitors have at their disposal."