Fisichella encouraged by Renault form

The Renault driver posted the fifth quickest time in the afternoon session after feeling more comfortable with the handling of his R27 around the twisty street circuit.

Fisichella bounced back following an accident in the morning session, the Italian crashing at the Ste Devote corner.

The crash forced him to use teammate Heikki Kovalainen's car in the afternoon, the Finn driving the spare machine.

"This was a better first day for us than at recent races," said the Italian, who team have scored just 11 points so far. "The car balance was consistent, and I was feeling very comfortable out there.

"The only problem was that the tyres were graining quite badly in the very low grip conditions, but we are confident that will disappear as the circuit conditions improve.

"I have to say thank you to my mechanics, who did a fantastic job at lunchtime to swap my chassis over, after I damaged my first one with a small crash at Ste Devote. They made it possible for me to run in P2, and now we have a really good starting point for Saturday morning."  

Kovalainen, making his F1 debut at Monaco, finished down in 17th position after being hindered by traffic on his flying lap.

Despite his time, the Finn was also encouraged, especially after being the only rookie who did not crash in today's sessions.

"It wasn't a very spectacular day for me," he said. "Monaco is a fantastic challenge for all the drivers, and to be honest, the car felt pretty good in terms of the balance. But ultimately, the times weren't quite there today, so we need to work tonight and tomorrow to improve things.

"I didn't get my last flying lap in during the second session because I was held up in traffic, so for sure there is more performance to come. It was a solid start for me, and I am optimistic that we can improve a lot on Saturday."