Karthikeyan Rues Engine Problems

The Jordan driver was forced to change his engine following problems in this morning's practice and so did not complete his flying lap in the afternoon, knowing he will start from the back of the grid anyway.

"We had some engine issues this morning in free practice and I have not been able to complete any running," said the Indian. "It is really a pity, as I would have needed more laps to continue learning the track and doing more work on the car set-up.

"Our strategy had then to be adapted which explains why I only did an installation lap to ensure everything was OK and to save fuel and tyres. I hope I will have a better day tomorrow."

Teammate Tiago Monteiro enjoyed a much better day and will start from 15th position after escaping problems during his flying lap.

"The whole weekend has been pretty good for me so far," said Monteiro. "This morning, we were very close to the front runners, especially the other Bridgestone drivers. I had a clean good qualifying lap and pushed really hard.

"It is going to be a long race tomorrow; especially on a new circuit where we do not really know how the tyres will behave over 58 laps; but it will be the same for everyone. I am really excited about tomorrow."