Liuzzi: V10 no help at Monaco

The higher torque of the 10-cylinder unit was expected to give Toro Rosso an edge at the Monaco Grand Prix, with some rivals claiming earlier this year the team could be fighting for a podium position.

Liuzzi, however, was only 16th quickest today and, although he was happy with his work, he said his V10 was not giving him any advantage.

"I am happy with what we achieved today. We worked on set up and race preparation and the car was well balanced throughout both sessions," said Liuzzi.

"In the second session we saw our times improve, even if our V10 does not seem to have delivered the extra help that some people thought it would do at this track. A good day overall."

American Scott Speed was 23rd fastest after losing some track time in the first session.

"Driving Monaco for the first time in a Formula One car was a very intense experience. Very tough. It's hard to say where we stand but I'd say we were struggling a bit today," Speed said.

"I lost a bit of track time in the first session, so we had to play catch-up a little bit."