'As always it's frustrating not to be closer, but we'll settle for the third and fifth rows of the grid,' says Mike Gascoyne, Technical Director, Jordan Grand Prix.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen's hard work during two days of practice paid off when he qualified in fifth place.

'A place in the top six is where we want to be,' said Frentzen. 'It was difficult because the conditions had changed since the morning. The wind picked up for qualifying and a tail wind was noticeable under braking for the hairpin at the far end of the circuit. I almost lost the car there but managed to keep everything together and get in the good lap we needed in order to be close to McLaren and Ferrari. It's always a tough race here - and usually a very exciting one. But I just hope it doesn't get too exciting! There's always a lot of retirements and we have to make sure we're not among them.'

Jarno Trulli was less content with his performance, having been faster than Frentzen earlier in the day.

'Jarno was unhappy with his car compared to this morning,' said Mike Gascoyne. 'He suddenly found there was no grip and, obviously, that's been frustrating for him after setting competitive times throughout practice. Heinz-Harald made changes to his car, which worked well and he did a very
good job in the tricky conditions. Obviously, it's frustrating not to be closer to the McLarens and Ferraris but we'll settle for the third and fifth rows. We're well-placed to take advantage of any problems they may have. Sixty-nine laps of this circuit can be very tough.'

David Coulthard looked to have secured pole position, only to have a last-minute effort by Michael Schumacher displace the McLaren driver.

'It would be nice to be on pole but I knew it was going to be a close session,' said Coulthard. 'Generally, Ferrari have been stronger on a single lap than we have been - but we have been strong in the races, so I hope that continues.'

Jordan Grand Prix