Phew! The drama was certainly put back into Saturday afternoon today, as the 2006 F1 season got underway with a nail-biting qualifying session. In the first 15-minute stint, nineteen drivers including David Coulthard and Christian Klien got caught up in last minute traffic when the session was re- started after being red flagged. In part two, Christian Klien set the eighth quickest time, which got him through to the final top ten shoot-out, while David, who was unhappy with the balance of his RB2, had to settle for 13th.

David Coulthard: "It was obviously pretty tricky in the first 15 minutes when all the cars were queuing up after the session was re-started. In the second one, the car had too much oversteer and so, to be honest, I wasn't surprised that I didn't get through to the final ten. I wasn't comfortable with the car's balance and so couldn't attack the corners as I would have liked. Christian did well to get through though."

Christian Klien: "The new format is really challenging – there's a lot more pressure on you with the different heats. The first and second parts were pretty good and I was comfortable with the car's performance. The difficult part was the third one when I had more fuel in the car along and new tyres. The car's balance was altered and the heavier fuel load meant the braking points changed too."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "I think that was respectable performance, we've got a reasonable strategy for tomorrow and, as it's the first time using new FIA regulations, it's going to be very interesting to see how the race turns out tomorrow. David being out of the top ten means he can now adjust fuel levels for tomorrow, which is beneficial, so I think he'll be in good shape. The team has all been working very hard all winter and throughout this weekend so hats off to them for all their efforts here today."