Damon Hill was very disappointed at his result of qualifying 20th for the Melbourne Grand Prix. He was almost the first World Champion to fail to qualify in a new season.

Hill commented: "For a moment, I thought I was going to have a Saturday night out in Melbourne...."

Hill added: "One minute, we were not going to be in the race at all, the next minute, we made it. There was not much time to spare. We were beset with problems with the race car so I had to take the spare car and it wasn't really set upright, but I don't think qualifying 20th is representative of our true pace. I hope we can do a lot better in the race than we have done in qualifying and I am not just here to get to the finish, I am here to get the best possible result I can. It is the first race of the season, we haven't done too well in testing and when we get some running I think we can do better."

"I've got to admit it is disappointing to be 20th," Hill said. "But the race scenario is quite different. If we can finish it will be really good and I am hopeful. What else can I be?"

Team boss Tom Walkinshaw said: "We've got problems, but now at least we can get back to England and try to sort them out. Both drivers need more running in the car and so testing will be our top priority from now and going to South America."