Monteiro expecting stronger Saturday

The Portuguese driver had a shaky start to his weekend after crashing against the "Wall of Champions" during the morning session.

His car was not badly damaged, but the Midland driver lost valuable track time.

Monteiro was back in action for the second session, but he only managed the 28th fastest time after 18 laps.

"This morning, we only did one run and I ended up touching the wall on the last corner - the infamous 'Wall of Champions', which has taken out quite a few drivers in the past," said Monteiro. "I wasn't hurt at all, the car wasn't too badly damaged and my crew did a great job to repair it in two hours. That's the positive side of it, anyway!

"In the afternoon, we stayed on the same tyres because we figured there wouldn't be much to gain from switching to a new set, so that's why it didn't look too good on the time sheet. We focused mostly on balance, in order to see if we could run with the softer tyres, which seem quicker but don't last very long, so we need to work on that.

"Tomorrow, we'll be running in better conditions with new tyres, so I'm expecting to see a big improvement."

Dutchman Christijan Albers enjoyed a better day, setting the 14th quickest time despite not feeling completely comfortable with the handling of his car.

"The lap time doesn't look too bad, but we're really going to have to work hard tonight to improve the balance of the car," said Albers. "The car is still too nervous and quite difficult to drive but in spite of this, I was still able to post some consistent lap times.

"The motivation level of the team is really high and everyone is working hard to find a solution, so I'm optimistic that we will be able to deliver a better result."