In common with their rivals, Minardi found today's A1-Ring decidedly lacking in grip compared with yesterday (Friday). Still, Mark Webber and Alex Yoong managed times of 1.11.388 and 1.12.336 to finish up 21st and 22nd at the end of qualifying. Both cars ran reliably, and the team is hopeful for the race tomorrow.

"I think it was quite a difficult session because everyone waited until the track cleaned up," said Webber in a team press release. "I thought we might as well go out because we only had a small amount of running on the tyre we were going to use in qualifying.

"When we did go out the track was very bad, plus we also had a number of balance changes to do with the new tyre. Then Jarno (Trulli) lost his engine and the session was stopped.

"When it re-started there was only 20 minutes left, there was a lot of dirt on the track and I just had to do the best time I could. We got a better balance, although still not perfect for qualifying, but at least I think we have the right tyre for the race tomorrow. We're not sure but we think maybe we are in better shape than others. We'll see."

Alex Yoong was more unhappy with his result. "I'm disappointed as I felt we could have had a good result in qualifying today," he remarked. "The balance of the car was good, but the rear brakes were locking up at times which destabilised the car into corners. We're now going to make some changes and we expect the situation to be significantly improved for tomorrow."

Team boss Paul Stoddart added: "On a slippery track P21 and P22 may not sound terribly exciting, but both drivers did a creditable job given the circumstances. We now look forward to tomorrow's race. Who knows? Unexpected things have been known to happen when starting from those positions."