Massa laments 'very difficult' day

But the Ferrari driver says it is still too early to judge the team's form, despite having finished down in 18th position.

"I was definitely not very happy with the balance, and also especially how the tyres were working," said Massa after practice.

"So it was very difficult to find a solution, and I was struggling a lot. Usually here is a track where the surface improves massively from one day to the other, so the conditions tomorrow should be better.

"But anyway, it was a very, very difficult day to find the right balance on the car and especially the right grip from the tyres.

Despite his problems, Massa, who scored his so far only podium finish of the season in the previous race, admitted he is hoping to be fighting behind Brawn and Red Bull Racing.

"Well, I would still think that maybe Red Bull and Brawn GP will be the best cars on this track," added the Brazilian. "Maybe McLaren can be competitive, and I hope we can be there in the middle.

"But anyway today is different - there are people on low fuel and other people on high fuel, so it was very difficult to see how is going to be the real picture."