Hamilton encouraged by new aero package

The Briton, looking for his third consecutive victory of the season, finished on the top of the charts with a best time of 1:20.554.

Hamilton, fourth fastest in the morning, tried a new aero package in the afternoon session and admitted it made the car better.

"The track was very dusty this morning so we took our time before starting our run programme," said Hamilton. "Once again, the car felt good even though I encountered quite a lot of traffic during both sessions.

"This afternoon, I also got to try the revised aero package for the first time - it definitely seemed to make the car better balanced, which is very encouraging."

Heikki Kovalainen also had a good day's work, the Finn posting the third quickest time.

"Another positive day for us," Kovalainen said. "The car started the day pretty strongly but we were able to keep improving it throughout both sessions.

"This afternoon, I was able to find a particularly good balance and focused on conserving the tyres rather than going for a laptime. I had a little bit of graining, but things look very promising for tomorrow."