Fisichella Confident of Top Ten Qualifying Spot

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella is confident of qualifying in the top ten for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix after a strong start of his weekend on Thursday.

The Jordan driver, who gave the Silverstone-based squad their first points of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks ago when he finished in fifth place, wound up fourth in today's practice at the tight and twisty streets of the Monte Carlo circuit.

Fisichella suffered an electrical problem in the morning session that reduced his running to only six laps, but the Roman recovered in the afternoon and is confident ahead of Saturday's qualifying.

"It was not a bad day, even though we lost the first session," said Fisichella. "We did quite a good job and it looks like the car is getting better. We have a lot of graining with the tyres in the last part of the lap, but I think it will be less of a problem on Saturday.

"We will also improve the set-up, so I am confident that we can be in the top ten."

Teammate Takuma Sato, who suffered a massive shunt at the Austrian Grand Prix, finished in 17th place after being hit by problems in his car's suspension during the first session.