Fisichella Relying on Increased Honda Power

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella is confident of qualifying in the top ten for Sunday's French Grand Prix, where he hopes to benefit from the increased power of a new specification Honda engine.

"We are still struggling a little bit with set-up and grip but it doesn't look too bad," said the Italian after posting the 12th quickest time in today's practice. "We have a few things on the car and will have more power for qualifying so I'm a bit more optimistic than normal If we do well a top ten grid result is possible."

The Jordan team will use the latest Honda engine both in tomorrow's qualifying and in Sunday's race as they try to return to the points after a disappointing home Grand Prix at Silverstone two weeks ago.

Fisichella, who spun off the track in the second session, was less than a tenth away from tenth placed man Juan Pablo Montoya.

Teammate Takuma Sato also was involved in an incident when he went off at the start of the second practice session, but despite the mishap the Japanese driver was pleased with his progress after setting the 15th quickest time.

"We're in quite good shape and had no mechanical troubles at all, which is great," said Sato. "The circuit itself is a little bit tricky on certain chicanes, but apart from that it's very smooth and good fun to drive. We had a good pace straight away and our tyres look quite competitive."