Karthikeyan Hopeful for the Race

The rookie driver admitted he failed to extract the maximum from his package during his flying lap, but was still happy with his performance.

Karthikeyan posted the 15th quickest time.

"It has not been my quickest lap since the beginning of the weekend but I am nevertheless still satisfied," he said. "It was a bit difficult to warm up the tyres, but then the car balance was OK.

"The race tomorrow will be very exciting, as all drivers know the Circuit de Catalunya quite well and I hope we will finish the race in a good position."

Karthikeyan finished ahead of his teammate Tiago Monteiro once more, although the Portuguese rookie was still pleased with his flying lap.

"The car was different to drive compared to this morning as the track temperature was warmer, but I did a good lap," said Monteiro, 16th today. "I am sure that we have chosen the right Bridgestone tyres and the right car set-up for tomorrow's race.

"Now we have to put together the different bits that we have learnt and see where we can improve."