Ide's woes continue at Barcelona

The Japanese driver has been put under pressure to improve his form after a disappointing Australian Grand Prix weekend, but the team said they were confident a planned test at the Circuit de Catalunya this week would allow him to make a step forward with his driving.

Managing director Daniel Audetto said earlier this week: "We will give him a full test in Barcelona before Imola and then we can assess him with more time and also fairness, to give him a good chance to prove that he is good."

However, mechanical problems for Takuma Sato during the test, and a lack of time to change over the settings on the single car the team had, meant Ide never even had the chance to get out on the track.

Sato had been asked to run this morning to do a tyre comparison test, but he stopped after 13 laps with an hydraulics problem. And, although the team set about trying to fix the issue, as well as alter the seat and pedal settings to accommodate Ide's taller frame, they eventually ran out of time to get Ide out on the track.

It means the Japanese rookie will head to the San Marino Grand Prix facing another track he does not know and without the confidence that would have come from running at Barcelona in test conditions.

Ide's test setback comes on the back of other difficulties he is having to face. He currently does not have his own seat in the SA05 and has previously had to make do with a modified version of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's from when the car was the Arrows A23.

He had been told that a new seat would be ready for this week's Barcelona test but a planned seat-fitting at the team's Leafield factory did not happen, and Ide is now having to make do with a modified version of Franck Montagny's seat.

Speaking to autosport.com on Thursday, Ide said he had hoped that his run on Friday would help him improve.

"I am told by Aguri (Suzuki) that I should get more mileage in the test, so that I can bring back results in the next race - that is all.

"That is why I am here - watching and taking part in the debrief from the first day."