Jordan encouraged with performance

Both Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato were right on the pace of the best of the non-Ferraris and even though they were not totally happy with their cars, they still set the fifth and sixth quickest times of the day.

"The car looks alright with good balance on used and new tyres," said Fisichella, who was as high as third at one point. "Today on my best lap I had a little graining with the front tyres and I made a mistake in the last sector. But overall it's looking encouraging and I'm pleased to say I'm confident that we could be on the front three or four rows tomorrow."

Sato matched Fisichella's pace and the pair swapped positions throughout the two sessions. It was a most impressive performance by the Japanese given that it was his first time at the track.

"I'm very pleased today as we had no mechanical problems at all and we put in a lot of laps, which is good for me as it's the first time I've been here in Formula 1," he said. "It's always good to learn the circuit quickly with the car working well. We still have some work in a couple of areas, but even so the car is going really well and our times look good so I'm feeling positive about tomorrow's qualifying."