Buemi hopeful on Toro Rosso potential

The Swiss driver, at the wheel of grand prix car for the first time in Monte Carlo, posted a respectable 15th quickest lap time in the afternoon session, having finished in 11th in the morning.

Buemi was pleased to avoid trouble in his first outing in the Principality.

"It was a good session and we tested everything we wanted to, which is positive," said Buemi. "We are still lacking a bit of pace, but the track was improving towards the end of the session, and those who fitted new tyres at that point were clearly quicker, which means there is some potential there.

"There is also potential in the car, so if we can put all the elements together for Saturday, it should be good. It is also positive that we had no problems with the car and that we didn't crash, which is always a key to a good weekend here in Monaco.

"As for the tyres, both types worked well, so now we need to improve our car set-up, even if some of the new parts we have here are also an improvement."

Team-mate Sebastien Bourdais was 16th fastest, the Frenchman admitting there was still work to do in order to get the car sorted over long runs.

"The car felt quite good on the short runs, but less so on the longer ones, when the car's behaviour made it difficult to sustain the lap times," Bourdais said. "We got through our work programme for the day. We are suffering from a slight lack of pace, but overall we did the best we could in these two sessions.

"Now we must look at the data for Saturday and the race, because it looks as though we are going to have two different sets of requirements for the short and long runs, although it is not tyre related. This is of course a special place to drive, although today it was a bit of a struggle to keep away from the barriers."