Jordan Duo Optimistic of Improving

Karthikeyan got blocked on his fastest lap in the afternoon, leaving him down in 24th place overall, while Monteiro struggled to find the perfect set-up for the car.

Both are confident of a step forward in performance on Saturday.

"We had a reasonable opening day at Interlagos today," said Karthikeyan. "I think we have found the right tyres.

"Unfortunately on my flying lap, I had a car in front of me so my last sector was a bit slow. But apart from the traffic, I am relatively satisfied with the balance of my car. The circuit was very green at the beginning but it improved considerably in the afternoon."

Monteiro added: "It was a good first trouble-free day I guess. We had no issues at all. We tried different car set-ups to suit the very bumpy track.

"We have to find a compromise between the bumps and the downforce. It's still not ideal but we have two more free practice sessions tomorrow to improve the balance of the car. We are not too far from the front runners so as a whole it was a positive day."