Massa encouraged despite crash

But the Ferrari driver, after setting the third fastest time behind the McLarens in the second session, reckons the team are working in the right direction.

"Despite losing time this morning, in the end we can call this a good day," said the Brazilian.

"We did some useful work on set-up and on the balance of the car and on a comparison of the two types of Bridgestone tyre available to us. From what we could see, we are working in the right direction.

"Now, we have to analyse the data very carefully to be as well prepared as possible for tomorrow's qualifying and for Sunday's race."

Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen is not as positive, claiming that the team still have work to do to make the F2007 package perform better.

"Satisfied with the way thing went this morning, but a bit less happy about the afternoon would sum up my day," said the Finn.

"This morning the car balance was very good, while we struggled a bit in the second session to find the right settings. We need to get the package we have to work better."

Ferrari's head of track activities Luca Baldisserri added: "We are struggling a little to do a good time on the first lap on new tyres, but our consistency in terms of performance over a long run is encouraging."