One of the most dramatic qualifying sessions for some time saw Jarno Trulli set fifth fastest time for Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda while Heinz-Harald Frentzen slipped to ninth place with an unexpected handling problem.

'That was really exciting!' said Trulli, after setting his best time on his last flying lap. 'It almost feels as good as getting on the front row as Monaco last year! I really pushed hard and I feel that I did my best with a car which was very competitive. I knew I should be able to do well because, in the morning, I hadn't been pushing hard because the track still wasn't dry, but I knew the car felt good. I could see in qualifying that the track was a bit wet in the beginning but it was getting better and better. The thing to do was to wait right until the end. So I just had to keep calm! I went out at the right time, everything went well and, as I said, it was very exciting! So, my starting position is good and, since we have a competitive car, I'm hoping for a good result in the race.'

'On my second quick run, I had a really hairy moment with a slower car,' said Heinz-Harald. 'The car felt really good but then I had massive understeer. We don't know at this stage what caused it but all I can say is that the balance of the car was very different all of a sudden. It's a pity because we were making good progress despite not having had the set-up time we wanted for qualifying due to the wet track in the morning. So it goes without saying that I'm disappointed with ninth place. I'll just have to see what I can do from there.'

Eddie Jordan said this was a good start to the European sector of the season. 'After the three long-haul races, it's good to have the convenience of our trucks and motor homes at the circuit,' said Jordan. 'And I'm delighted to see Jordan Grand Prix on the third row, in among the Williams and the Ferraris, particularly with the field being so competitive. Jarno did a great job and it's really unfortunate that Heinz-Harald got held up by traffic, otherwise he would have been right up there too. Now we have to translate this into more points tomorrow.'