Jaime Alguersuari expects tough qualifying but another very strong race

In each of the last three grands prix, Alguersuari has come through from 18th on the grid to finish in the points. He was 12th and 15th in today's two practice sessions.

"I did a long run on the option tyre this afternoon and we are still looking better in race trim than in the qualifying simulation," he said.

"Based on this, I would say we have the possibility to score some more points on Sunday, although the weather is looking uncertain.

"Tomorrow morning we can look to improve the car a bit more for the race and in the afternoon, qualifying will again be the limiting factor for us, because it will be very difficult to get ahead of our closest opponents, but I am very motivated for the race."

His team-mate Sebastien Buemi did not manage to set a time in second practice due to a misfire.

"I had a misfire from early on in the morning session, but we continued to run anyway," he said. "Then in the afternoon it got worse and the mechanics had to strip down the car to trace the cause of it, so I could not run in FP2.

"However, despite the lack of laps, I still believe we can move forward tomorrow, when there is also a chance the weather could be different with the threat of rain. So, overnight we have to fix the car then decide on what set-up to run if it is wet and despite today's difficulties, I still believe we can have a competitive weekend."