Liuzzi expecting tough weekend

The Italian driver was 13th fastest in the afternoon, but he admitted he was not happy with his car's handling.

"It was a hard day and we struggled a bit with a few problems on the car, and in terms of balance it did not seem so easy to keep the car on the right line," said the Italian.

"We still need to find grip and the front of the car is washing out and I was also getting some snap oversteer.

"It will be a tough weekend, but tonight me and the engineers will work hard to find a compromise to improve for tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do. At least tyre choice seems very clear so that is something we can already cross off tomorrow's job list."

Teammate Scott Speed did not enjoy a good start to his home Grand Prix weekend, suffering all kinds problems, including a monitor falling on one of his fingers.

The American finished as 18th quickest.

"Unfortunately we had several problems on the car today, with the steering wheel, with the TV monitor falling on my finger in the garage and at the end the wind speed indicator began to come loose," he said.

"I also think the fact we are still waiting for our new gearbox will hurt us more at this circuit than at others.

"We are sliding around a lot on the infield, but I think that is the same for everyone and I don't think our balance is so far off what we want. Because of the various problems I had, I will be relying on Tonio's data to help with tyre choice."