Heidfeld remains upbeat

The German, who is hoping to beat Antonio Pizzonia and Anthony Davidson to the second seat alongside Mark Webber next year, completed an impressive 87 laps during his rain-hit first day of running but the weather meant his best lap of one minute 22.713 seconds was five seconds off the best time.

Despite the frustration of not showing how quick he can go, Heidfeld told autosport.com that he remained delighted with the job he had done on the opening day - and he hoped that dry weather on Thursday would finally allow him to prove his worth.

"I did nearly 100 laps and it was a good day - even though the lap time was not that good," said Heidfeld. "Unfortunately I didn't get many laps when the track was at its driest. Still, I am very happy with how things have gone."

Heidfeld was not given any specific work to do for the team and, after perfecting his seating position before the action got under way, he was simply allowed to experiment with the car himself

"There was no programme from the team and they are allowing me to do my own thing. The car itself is very easy to drive and very powerful. It's under braking that I am gaining a lot more time [than Mark Webber] - but I think that is simply because it is so easy to drive.

"Today was like having a new toy. Even with the buttons and controls on the steering wheel there is still so much I have to learn."

Although the lap times did not show how well he had settled in with the team, Heidfeld declared himself confident that he had the car set-up well enough for him to put in a decent time if his final day is dry.

"I was allowed to play with the set-up but I didn't do much because the start set-up was close to what I am comfortable with.

"It has been a very good day. I enjoyed working with the team. It is very professional and they are very good people. I have just not had enough time in one day because there are so many things I want to do still."