Doornbos too enthusiastic in qualifying

In his second Grand Prix weekend for the Minardi F1 Team, Robert Doornbos qualified himself in 19th position for Sunday's 70-lap race. At the 4,381 kilometer long Hungaroring, Doornbos had to settle for a best time of 1:25.484, after he misjudged ...

In his second Grand Prix weekend for the Minardi F1 Team, Robert Doornbos qualified himself in 19th position for Sunday's 70-lap race. At the 4,381 kilometer long Hungaroring, Doornbos had to settle for a best time of 1:25.484, after he misjudged himself while braking for the first corner.

Robert Doornbos.

Photo by xpb.cc.

As air and track temperatures rose, Doornbos also saw chance to improve his laptimes in both the third and fourth Free Practice sessions. After having appropriated P17 (1:25.691) in today's first session, Minardi's new recruit even bettered his laptime with more than two seconds (1:23.358) in Free Practice 04.

Not only did both Minardi drivers manage to beat their Jordan Grand Prix colleagues once again, they also seemed to be able to catch both of the Sauber drivers for the first time this year.

During qualifying Doornbos lost the opportunity to turn his competence into a good result when the 23-year hit the brakes too late in the first corner. Although Doornbos was able to gain some time in the midsection of the twisty circuit, the initial loss could not be compensated.

Robert Doornbos:

"It is a shame I was a little overenthusiastic in the first and last intermediate. We only drove on used tyres this morning to safe rubber for tomorrows race so I had to get used to a new set of tyres. The Bridgestones are working well here and are pace is great too. I am looking forward to tomorrow!"