Ferrari struggling with super soft tyres

Bridgestone has brought the super soft option for the first time this season, and the Italian squad were unable to get them to work properly during today's practice.

As a result, Raikkonen had to settle for third position, nearly half a second behind Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon, after having topped the times in the morning.

"I would say this was a normal day of free practice," said the Finn. "We went quite well, especially on used tyres in the morning. But we struggled a bit to do a time on new tyres in the second session and now we have to look at the data carefully to understand how to improve.

"There is plenty of time to do that and so I am not particularly worried, at least at the moment."

Teammate Felipe Mass was fourth fastest, the Brazilian also failing to extract the maximum from the super softs.

He said: "Our rivals are very strong here, even allowing for the unknown factor of fuel loads. I wasn't able to do a good lap on the soft tyres, but things went well on the hard ones: we have to study the situation calmly and try to get all the details right.

"If we compare today with the same time last year, I think we have made a step forward. We have changed the settings on the car compared to the past and now we hope we will see the benefits of this choice."

Ferrari team manager Luca Baldisserri was sure the weekend would not be easy, especially seeing McLaren's form.

"We were expecting a particularly difficult weekend and these three hours of free practice have not give us any reason to change our minds," he said.

"While it is true that our preparations for this race have produced some results, it is equally true that our main rivals have not been twiddling their thumbs either and therefore have turned up here in very competitive shape.

"Our weak point today was mainly to do with performance on new tyres, especially on the softer tyre. We must carefully study the day and try and make the necessary changes so as to be competitive at the highest level.

"On top of that, we must also keep a careful eye on the weather, which could be the decisive factor for Saturday's qualifying and especially in Sunday's race."