Trulli blames rain for ruined lap

"The brief rain shower ruined my qualifying lap," he said. "The first sector was dry, and I was very quick, then I got to the second sector and felt that the car was sliding more because it was damp. The lack of grip caused my mistake in the chicane at turns six and seven, and then I tried to be as quick as possible in the final sector. I didn't expect to be ninth on the grid in Hungary, and I think it will make tomorrow's race a tough one for me."

Team-mate Fernando Alonso showed the true pace of the car having run his flying lap earlier in the session. The Spaniard, who was on pole at the circuit last year, had to settle for fifth place this time though, a disappointment considering the team's optimism ahead of the weekend.

"The grip levels of the circuit changed a lot for me between the first and second sessions, which was a bit of a surprise," he said. "I attacked as hard as possible, but after my lap I had the impression that it could have been better. The R24 was well-balanced and it handled very well. If I can make a good start from fifth position, then I think we can have an interesting race."

Engineering chief Pat Symonds added: "Although we clearly need more performance at this circuit, the result in qualifying is by no means bad and both of our cars will start from the clean side of the grid. Fernando found the car balance to be good and the grip much better in the final session, such that he perhaps did not get the best from the package. However, I do not think this affected his position.

"Jarno was extremely unlucky, and he encountered the first rain shower we have seen here during a session of the Hungarian Grand Prix in eighteen years."