Fisi suffers engine penalty

The Italian came to a halt on the start-finish straight just minutes from the end of the session. Engineers identified a problem with the engine which was subsequently changed in time for the second session. Fisichella failed to be rattled by the prospect of demotion and instead set the second quickest time of the session in the late minutes.

"I am very pleased, as we have taken a big step forward," he said. "The team has done a fantastic job, and if you look what we have achieved with the car since Melbourne it is excellent. This step here in Silverstone is probably the biggest of them all. The car is very well balanced and stable, and I was able to do a very good lap time."

"I am really, really optimistic, even though my engine problem this morning means that I will lose 10 grid places tomorrow afternoon. The same thing happened at Nurburgring, and we still scored points there, so I'm really looking forward to the race."

At the Nurburgring Fisichella opted to start from the back of the grid with a full tank of fuel instead of setting a time in Saturday's qualifying. But his pace in the final practice session indicated that the team were working on a low-fuel set-up in preparation for qualifying. All will certainly be revealed on Saturday.

Team-mate Felipe Massa set the 10th quickest time in the second Sauber and, like Fisichella, expressed his satisfaction with the C23.

"Honestly, I am very happy with my lap time," said the Brazilian. "I used my new tyres early in the session to do a long run, so my lap was achieved on old rubber whereas Giancarlo used his new tyres at the end. The car is well balanced, very consistent and very stable, and I am feeling very optimistic. It is great to know we have such a competitive car."

Team boss Peter Sauber was delighted with Fisichella's time and felt it was just reward for the team. "All our efforts of the past few weeks have paid off and we have taken a clear step forward with the new rear bodywork," he said. "Giancarlo's excellent time is a thank-you to everybody in the team, particularly all the people working back in the factory at Hinwil who have contributed so much to this result."