Bourdais encouraged by new STR3

The Frenchman said that he had been 'encouraged' by the new car's speed and consistency out of the box, and set competitive times during the morning session.

"The base line is quite good and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised," he said. "However, the track conditions might be extremely good so I need to be careful with everything I say but so far the car has had no problems at all, which is a very encouraging point.

"The feeling is good and I felt comfortable in the car straight away. From a driving point of view you can feel it has more downforce than the current one and it's a big step forward on the aero package."

The car, which is similar in appearance to Red Bull Racing's RB4, is not scheduled to make its race debut until the Turkish Grand Prix.

Any plans to bring that debut forward however, were scuppered with Bourdais' shunt an hour before the end of the afternoon session at Turn Nine. The multiple Champ Car champion lost control and hit the barrier sideways, ripping off most of the left side of the car.

The Toro Rosso team have now cancelled the second part of their two-day test because the car was too badly damaged to repair on site.