Trulli Surprised by Qualifying Speed

Italian Jarno Trulli admitted he was surprised to set the fastest time of the day in opening qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"I honestly didn't expect to be so quick, because the car isn't well balanced at the moment," said the Renault driver after finishing 0.055 seconds ahead of Williams rival Ralf Schumacher. "I need to work hard with the engineers tonight to find a better balance and improve the car for tomorrow."

Trulli, who scored his first podium in more than three years at the German Grand Prix three weeks ago, was pleased with the result despite having to drive on a very slippery and dusty track.

"It is a satisfying result after a difficult day: the track is very slippery, which meant that we weren't able to get the most out of our two hours this morning," said Trulli.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso completed a strong day for Renault by setting the sixth fastest time, albeit more than half a second off Trulli's pace.

"I'm in a good position for Saturday qualifying," said Alonso. "Given that I lost a large part of the practice session this morning, and that the track conditions changed in the meantime, sixth is pretty good.

"At the moment, the car hasn't got enough grip, so I'm hoping to find more of that, and a little bit of luck, for tomorrow."