The Minardi F1 Team today produced its best qualifying performance in two seasons, drivers Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers finishing the first qualifying session for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix in 14th and 15th positions respectively.

In achieving this result, Friesacher and Albers recorded faster times than either of the Jordan entries, with Friesacher’s time only two-and-a-half seconds off the pace of the Ferraris. Earlier in the day, the final two practice sessions of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend provided further evidence that the team has made progress with the PS05. Friesacher’s fastest laps saw the young Austrian in P14 in the first session, P15 in the second, and solidly ahead of both Jordan entries in each of the sessions. Albers couldn’t quite match his team mate’s pace, although he, too, notched up lap times close to those of Minardi’s nearest rivals. He also lost his final scheduled run of the second session when a gearbox problem developed. Aside from the performances of both drivers, team personnel were pleased to note that the Minardi Cosworth PS05 chassis appears to be handling well on the Monaco circuit, where high levels of downforce and mechanical grip pay dividends, while also being among the fastest through the speed trap.