Button: We'll be strong

All three BAR drivers found the track to be dusty and lacking in grip, which gave them some problems finding a good balance. They were all, however, in optimistic mood after the two sessions.

"We've had a good first day today," said Button. "The lack of grip has been a problem throughout the day though. We struggled this morning and were expecting the grip level to improve this afternoon, but it didn't. Generally, we have some work to do but I think we're going to be strong here."

Davidson was again mighty impressive on a circuit which he has not been to before, setting the pace in the first session with a lap time which remained the second best of the day even after the second session.

"I'm really pleased that I was able to set a new lap record at the end of what is essentially a familiarisation session," said Davidson.

Takuma Sato ran into the same grip problems as Button. I hope that the track will improve tomorrow," he said, "because we were struggling for grip throughout the day today. Overall I'm feeling quite positive about the weekend ahead." Sato's best lap put him 10th in the second session.