McLaren drivers surprised by pace

The team has introduced some minor tweaks to its floor, which it ran for the first time today and the Finn is confident that McLaren has taken a step forward.

"The most important thing is that the car is working fine," said Kovalainen. "The balance is surprisingly good.

"We've made another step forward so everybody in the team can be pleased about today."

Despite the improvements, Kovalainen warned that getting into the top 10 in qualifying is still a challenge for the McLaren MP4-24.

"I still think it will be a tough fight to get into the top 10 tomorrow. "We'll be trying the maximum overnight so that we can join the fight.

"It's very encouraging that we've made another step forward."

Kovalainen's team-mate, world champion Lewis Hamilton, backed up his impressions, adding that he was surprised by the improvement made.

Hamilton ended the second free practice session in 13th place, less than six-tenths of a second off Kovalainen.

"Before we arrived here, we thought we'd probably have the same sort of pace that we had in Barcelona," said Hamilton. "But it seems we're a little bit faster than anticipated.

"We have a little instability on the ext of some corners, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the pace of the car today."