Trulli struck by gearbox gremlin

The Italian was 10th fastest in pre-qualifying, but trouble struck early in the main qualifying session. It follows on from gearbox problems he experienced on Friday.

"Jarno suffered what we currently believe to have been a steering wheel problem that prevented his car from shifting gears correctly," explained Renault's Pat Symonds. "He only just got out of the pits in time, and then ran wide in Turn 1 when his car remained in top gear."

Trulli said: "Naturally, I'm extremely disappointed. I had trouble exiting the garage because first gear would not engage, and then the car would not change gear properly on my lap. Looking ahead, it will be tough race tomorrow but we can still look to score points."

His team-mate Fernando Alonso will start down in ninth spot, losing out as only 12 hundredths of a second covers positions five to nine on the grid.

"I didn't have any problems on my lap, and made no mistakes; in fact, I am feeling quite confident for tomorrow," said Alonso. "I am only starting from ninth, but the times are very close and given our fuel load, I think we are on a good strategy. The tyres are working well, so everything is in place for a strong race."