Karthikeyan Still Sore after Crash

Karthikeyan crashed heavily in the final practice session, flying across the gravel and into the tyre barriers, causing a lot of damage to his car, although he escaped unscathed.

His mechanics were forced to work hard to repair the car for qualifying, and Karthikeyan was thankful after posting the 19th fastest time.

"My lap was okay considering the accident I had this morning when I spun the car under braking, trying to get heat into a new set of tyres," he said. "I am still feeling a bit sore. The mechanics worked really hard to fix the car and they did a great job.

"However, in qualifying, the car was a bit unstable so we decided to take it a bit easier. Nevertheless, I am pretty confident for tomorrow's race."

Karthikeyan's teammate Tiago Monteiro, using the revised Jordan EJ15B, finished in 17th position after managing to outqualify both the Indian and the Minardi drivers.

"I am quite satisfied with my lap in qualifying today," said Monteiro. "The new car felt okay, however Monza is not the easiest track to gain a greater benefit but we had more stability in the entry of the corners. We are looking forward to tracks with more downforce where we will be able to use the advantage we have with the new package.

"Here the track is tricky for everyone as the low downforce set-up naturally makes the car a bit unstable. I am happy with the new car and we know there is still much more to come."