Coulthard optimistic despite penalty

The Red Bull driver suffered an engine problem right after crossing the finish line at last Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, which meant he needed to replace the Ferrari unit for Sepang.

Since he had crossed the finish line, the Scot could not escape a penalty and will be dropped 10 places after tomorrow's qualifying.

And while Coulthard was only 16th fastest in today's practice, he is confident of a strong showing on Saturday.

"A normal Friday really," said Coulthard. "Restrictions apply to the overall mileage, even though it's a fresh engine so we didn't do so many laps today. It's much harder on tyres here than in Bahrain and, as we were trying to save tyres for tomorrow's qualifying and the race, we only used one set today.

"Therefore it was really just a balance evaluation day. The balance seems a little bit better than it was at the last race, so I'm optimistic as to what tomorrow can bring."

His teammate Christian Klien did not enjoy a good practice, struggling with the balance of his car. The Austrian was 23rd fastest.

"I only used one set of tyres today," Klien said. "They were graining a lot which caused a lot of understeer. It wasn't really such a good day for me. We have to look at the data tonight and see what we can improve for tomorrow. One thing I can say - it's bloody hot in the car.

"We only did a few laps today and then the heat's not so bad. It's during the race that you start to get really hot, it begins in your body and then moves up to your head. Last year during the race, I had to open the visor of my racing helmet a little to try and get some air in!"