Fisichella Confident of Top Ten in Qualifying

Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella was encouraged after a good day in practice for the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today.

The Italian finished in seventh position with the Honda-powered car after posting a very promising second quickest in the first of the today's timed sessions. After his performance Fisichella is confident of qualifying in the top ten tomorrow, but reckons it will be hard considering the small gap to his rivals.

"It's been quite a good day," admitted Fisichella. "We've done a lot of work for the race with fairly high fuel loads so I'm pleased to be 7th quickest and I'm quite confident about tomorrow. I know it's going to be tough because the gap between me and other people is tight but I think it is possible to be in the top ten."

Fisichella's teammate Takuma Sato lost valuable track time after crashing out during the second hour-long session, the Japanese driver losing control of his car at the slower corner of the circuit. Sato finished down in 17h position.

"The car set-up was very competitive straight away this morning which was good. I was hammering down the historical Indianapolis circuit immediately! It is fun to drive, especially the banking section, but in a Formula One car there's not much to that because it's really just a straight.

"There are some interesting corners in the infield, which I think are good to drive, and they suit our car. It was a shame that I couldn't complete the second session but tomorrow will hopefully be a much better day."