Heidfeld Expected More Speed

German Nick Heidfeld said he was expecting to be closer to his rivals in today's practice for the San Marino Grand Prix.

The Jordan driver has struggled for pace in the first three races of the season, but following testing during the three-week break Heidfeld admitted he had expected to see more improvement in the performance of his Jordan.

The German finished down in 20th position, nearly three seconds off the pace.

"I feel that we have made a lot of improvements on the car itself recently although I did hope to be even closer to the people ahead of us," said Heidfeld. "I still feel that the balance of the car is not really as good as it could be and I'm confident we can improve it for tomorrow."

Italian teammate Giorgio Pantano finished right behind Heidfeld in 21st.

"In the end we found quite a good balance with the car, so it just means I have to keep going with that set-up direction I think because there was quite a difference between the first session and the end of the second one," explained Pantano.

"I feel confident with the car and think probably tomorrow we can make an improvement. I'm very happy to be driving here in Imola because I know I have some fans here and I'm a little bit excited about that because to go around and see you have people cheering you on is really good."