Marques given green light to race.

Formula One returnee Tarso Marques had a torrid time in qualifying for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix but, despite not officially making the cut, has been granted permission to contest his first F1 race since leaving Minardi in 1997.

The Brazilian struggled with braking problems that caused him to spin in both practice and qualifying and, combined with a cooling system leak that lost him time in the official timed session, found himself just under a second shy of the maximum permissible qualifying time. Even with the chance to run in team-mate Fernando Alonso's car - with his own parked in the gravel - Marques was unable to break the magic barrier.

European Minardi team members decided that they had nothing to lose by discussing the matter of his participation in the race with the FIA Stewards, however, and it was decided that 'exceptional circumstances' had affected Marques' qualifying effort, duly clearing him to race in tomorrow's grand prix.

"It has been a difficult day, but at least I'm in the race," Marques remarked, "The car had been nervous on the brakes all day, despite changes that we made. The back end of the car just got away from me in Turn Three on my third run of the afternoon and I spun. I got a lift back to the garage and was able to take over Fernando's car for my final run. It was pretty uncomfortable because, despite the fact the mechanics had fitted my seat, I am taller than Fernando and the pedals were different. I improved my time by nearly seven-tenths of a second, but it just wasn't quite enough. Anyway, I am very pleased that the stewards have decided to let me race tomorrow. Hopefully, we have got all the bad luck out of the way today, and the race will be much better for us."

"Today sees a just reward for six-and-a-half weeks of relentless effort by everyone in the European Minardi F1 team," added Paul Stoddart, "I really feel for Tarso, since he seems to have shouldered all of the team's problems over the past two days, but I can only praise his performance, and those of his mechanics, in the closing stages of today's qualifying session. In the end, he was within 107 per cent of everyone except Michael Schumacher, who really put in a stunning qualifying lap. I'm so pleased the Stewards have decided to include him in tomorrow's race. We definitely haven't seen the best of him yet, and I'm sure with some testing under his belt, both European Minardi F1s will become fully competitive."

Marques will start 22nd and last on the grid, with team-mate Alonso in an unexpected 19th.