Trulli Encouraged after Strong Showing

Italian Jarno Trulli is confident of a strong race following a promising performance in today's final qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

"I am definitely pleased with my position, and also with the team's performance this weekend," said the Renault driver after posting the sixth fastest time of the session behind Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello.

"We have worked hard since yesterday morning, because we had neither balance nor performance when we began. After qualifying, however, our position is definitely promising; I now hope the race will be good to us tomorrow."

Trulli outqualified his Spanish teammate Fernando Alonso, who complained about the balance of his R23 car and finished two positions behind the Italian in eighth.

"It was a good run for me: there were no mistakes, although the car balance still wasn't perfect," said Alonso. "I haven't had any problems all day, and we worked hard to find the right compromise on set-up. I'm happy to be starting from the top ten tomorrow."