Salo looked to have come close to a collision as the session drew to an end, after Rubens Barrichello was forced into the gravel to avoid the slowly-travelling Toyota. Just centimetres appeared to separate the cars as the Brazilian jinked off to the left. Barrichello later said in the press conference that the incident had "my heart going above 200!"

"Qualifying was very close as expected with every hundredth of a second counting," the Finn said in a press release. "I couldn't get the lap done I wanted and suffered from understeer, which we have to improve on. I am sorry for holding up Rubens on his final flying lap. He was in the blind spot of my mirror and I just didn't see him."

McNish, on the other hand, was more pleased with his efforts. "The car has been pretty good and consistent so far this weekend," he commented. "The qualifying session today was extremely positive from my perspective. We have found a good set-up on the car for the race and I am looking forward to making the most of it tomorrow."

Chief designer Gustav Brunner added: "I am very pleased that we have made our third top ten qualifying position in only our 6th race. The A1-Ring has tended to suit our car a bit better than other circuits and this has been reflected in the excellent 10th and 14th positions that Mika and Allan managed today."