Alonso encouraged by Renault speed

The former world champion was fourth-fastest in the morning before slipping to ninth later on, and despite not being entirely happy with the car's balance yet, he believes Renault is in good shape at Istanbul Park.

"The track conditions were certainly not ideal today, buy they were the same for all the teams and did not disturb our programme too much," Alonso said.

"We still have to make a few more improvements tomorrow, especially with the general balance of the car, but today's performance is encouraging for the rest of the weekend."

Alonso's teammate Nelson Piquet was only 16th in the second session, but was also confident that he would have a strong weekend.

"My day was pretty normal," he said. "I had quite a busy programme with set-up work this morning and tyre testing in the afternoon.

"The aim was to feel at home in the car and to try to improve the balance, and we managed to do this because we did not have any problems during the two sessions.

"Overall I think that we have prepared well, and I am determined to make the most of the final practice session tomorrow."

The team's executive director of engineering Pat Symonds admitted that the team had been surprised by the weather conditions, but felt they had got to grips with the cold temperatures.

"It has not been easy today," he said. "We were expecting low temperatures with the race being held earlier in the year than usual, but the temperatures have turned out to be even lower than we had anticipated.

"Consequently grip is pretty low, which is why we saw so many incidents on the circuit today. Both drivers are still looking to improve the balance of the car, but I am happy with the work we've done as we have been able to evaluate the tyres and looked at some different set-up options."