Turkish GP: Minardi Saturday qualifying notes

Minardi F1 Team drivers Christijan Albers and Robert Doornbos will start tomorrow's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix from 16th and 17th positions on the grid respectively after this afternoon's incident-packed official qualifying session.

Doornbos was the first of the two on track, but a problem caused by the incorrect fitting of a brake pipe meant he was unable to complete the run, while Albers, although not entirely happy with the balance of his car, drove a clean and committed qualifying lap in setting his time.

Earlier, the drivers spent the final two practice sessions of the weekend continuing to work on chassis set-up and preparing for the all-important qualifying runs. A number of new aerodynamic components are also being evaluated this weekend, which are a direct result of an ongoing wind tunnel programme for the Minardi Cosworth PS05.

Christijan Albers:

"We did a lot of work on the car, and it was more stable in the qualifying run than we'd managed this morning, when the rear was quite nervous. I was happy with that and with the fact we gained some grip."

"The only real issue in qualifying related to a gear-shifting problem, which cost me quite a bit of time. That said, the car is definitely going in the right direction, and although it will be a tough race tomorrow, I think we'll be all right."

Robert Doornbos:

"It was obviously a disappointing qualifying for me. I was hoping for a very good run, because although we had a difficult tyre choice to make this morning, I think we found a good set-up for the race and things looked promising. As a result, there was something to look forward to in qualifying, but even on the out lap, I knew the car was not how it should be, and that there was a problem with the brakes."

"They suggested over the radio that I just carry on and try to complete the lap, but the problem got worse and worse, and the car was very slow on the straights, just like the handbrake was still on. I really hope I can have some better luck tomorrow and do something special in the race."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth:

"It was an interesting start to qualifying, with Robert's spectacular incident at the entrance to the pit lane. Sadly, a brake pressure problem had left him with no choice but to abort his flying lap."

"Christijan, on the other hand, with a substantial fuel load on board and what we believe is the correct choice of tyres for tomorrow's race, put in a steady performance, and will benefit from the strategy as the event progresses. Throughout this morning's practice sessions, everything went pretty much according to plan."

CHRISTIJAN ALBERS
Chassis: PS05/01
Best lap: 1 min 32.186 secs
Position: 16th

ROBERT DOORNBOS
Chassis: PS05/02
Best lap: No time
Position: 17th

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