Monteiro Relying on Race Strategy

The Portuguese driver finished in 19th position, nearly 2.5 seconds off his teammate Narain Karthikeyan's pace after admitting he found his Jordan was very hard to drive.

Monteiro, however, feels confident his race strategy will help him improve in the race and the rookie is dreaming of a points finish.

"We have decided to go on an optimum strategy for the race so obviously we have made a few changes to the car and adapted everything to that strategy," he said. "It was therefore a more difficult car to drive as both the car and the tyres reacted differently from this morning.

"It was a bit of a surprise but in the end our times are not too bad compared to our competitors. We know we have a good strategy for the race and I am looking forward to it. Hopefully if we get any opportunities we could score some more points at the end."

Karthikeyan finished in 15th place and was pleased with his effort.

"I did a very good qualifying lap even though I have lost a little bit of time compared to this morning," Karthikeyan said. "Nevertheless we are satisfied with the balance of the car today. I think we have also chosen the right Bridgestone tyre compound for the race.

"Hopefully we can have a good Grand Prix out of it tomorrow."