Belgian GP: Minardi Saturday qualifying notes

After Friday's heavy rains, the Ardennes region around Spa was bathed in sunshine for much of today, allowing the teams preparing for the Belgian Grand Prix to make up for lost time.

Minardi F1 Team drivers Robert Doornbos and Christijan Albers took maximum advantage of Saturday morning's two free practice sessions, and by the end of the 90 minutes, both pronounced themselves pleased with the performance of their cars.

The comments were reflected in qualifying, when they recorded times within a tenth of a second of one another, and claimed 17th and 18th places on the grid respectively for tomorrow's race.

Robert Doornbos:

"It was great to have done a good lap in front of all the Dutch fans who are here at Spa. Along with Jordan, we have our own little Grand Prix within the Grand Prix, and it's good to have been the fastest of the four cars. We took a bit of a risk with the strategy, so I hope it's going to rain tomorrow. Whatever happens, we'll try to do the best job possible for the fans."

Christijan Albers:

"I'm pleased with my lap. It was not an amazing lap, just a normal, solid lap, and I was glad to stay on the track, as I had a little off in qualifying at Monza. Considering our race strategy, I'm happy with the time. We'll see what happens tomorrow."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth:

"Today saw both Minardis put in solid qualifying performances to end up P17 and P18. Interestingly, an analysis of the times indicates we were on the pace with the Ferraris in both the first and third sectors of the lap. Overall, then, we're pleased with the way things have gone, and look forward to tomorrow's race."

ROBERT DOORNBOS
PS05/02
Best lap: 1 min 49.779 secs
Position: 17th

CHRISTIJAN ALBERS
PS05/01
Best lap: 1 min 49.842 secs
Position: 18th

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