Stoddart Rues 'Extremely Bad Day' for Minardi

Minardi boss Paul Stoddart was downbeat after what he claimed was an "extremely bad day" for his team in today's qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Both Zsolt Baumgartner and Gianmaria Bruni had an eventful pre-qualifying session that hindered their chances of a better result in the final qualifying. The Hungarian finished in 19th place over 2.5 seconds behind the car in front, while Bruni was the last qualifier.

"Sadly, the drivers didn't do themselves any favours today," said Stoddart. "Gimmi failed to complete his first flying lap of the day, hitting the barriers on cold brakes, and Zsolt followed a few laps later when he, too, came into contact with the all-inviting Monaco walls.

"Although the team worked tirelessly, and succeeded in getting Zsolt out in the final minutes of the second session, the reality is the drivers had little or no track time before the all-important qualifying session.

"As such, their performances this afternoon simply reflect what has been an extremely bad day."