Heidfeld encouraged by Friday showing

Heidfeld was fourth quickest in the morning session and ninth in the afternoon, and he admitted he was not expecting to enjoy such a strong day.

"Our Friday went well, even better than expected before the weekend," said Heidfeld. "In the first session especially we were strong. In the second session the balance of my car wasn't as good, although we didn't change a lot.

"It was down to the track conditions - the rain had washed the rubber away and the wind had changed direction. But as usual the second practice session never really demonstrates our true performance. I think we have a good basis to work from."

Teammate Robert Kubica finished down in 10th position in the second session after being fifth quickest in the morning.

The Pole was left lamenting the changeable weather conditions.

"The day was quite okay but the weather was so so," he said. "The track was a bit wet for the first half an hour of the afternoon session, but then it dried.

"We did tyre evaluation in the morning and then in the afternoon worked on the set-up, mainly doing research to get the right balance of the car as it is a big change from the last two races."