Coulthard encouraged by pace

The Scot had a trouble-free day and, despite some concerns about the handling of the brakes of his car, the Red Bull racer finished as eighth quickest.

"It's encouraging to get up to speed on the track today, evaluate the car and not touch the barriers," said the Scot.

"I had a little concern regarding the handling of the brakes at the start, but we'll get a hold on that by tonight."

Red Bull enjoyed a promising start to their weekend, with third driver Robert Doornbos also near the top of the times with the fifth fastest time.

Austrian Christian Klien did not enjoy such a good day after being hit by steering problems in the morning and struggling with the balance in the afternoon. He finished down in 21st place.

"I had a problem with the power steering in the first session, so the car was pretty heavy to this morning," he said. "In the afternoon, I did some more runs to get used to the circuit.

"It's very challenging here and you can gain a lot of time by doing more and more laps. I still need to work on the car, as I'm struggling with the balance."