De la Rosa: V8 Requires Different Driving

The Spaniard, who ran a total of 37 laps and set the slowest time of the day, said he was surprised to find that the new engine lacks power.

"It is the baptism of V8 for me and for the team," de la Rosa told Autosport-Atlas. "It is simply lacking in power, which shocked me, and I suppose we all get used to it.

"But it just does not have the power we are used to, and it is true to say that it is less physical. One thing is we must not brake too harshly, because if we do, we lose so much that we cannot accelerate.

"Basically, we have to carry the speed through, so in a way we may have to change the driving style a bit.

"There are two things which we drivers have to accept: that it is just slow, and that we have to adjust accordingly. The latter part is easy, the first part is more difficult."

De la Rosa also downplayed an incident in the morning session which saw him drive back to the pits with a fiery engine - believed to have been triggered by an overheated exhaust.

"We just burned the bodywork, that is all; we carry on tomorrow," the Spaniard said.