Monteiro Vows to Push Harder

The Portuguese driver ended the day just two tenths behind Karthikeyan, with the duo in 17th and 18th places on the provisional grid, but was far from happy with his own performance.

"It is very tricky to get everything together in only one qualifying lap, especially for a rookie," said Monteiro. "I do not seem to be pushing at the limit at the moment and I should  push  harder. 

"I have to improve a couple of small things and I am sure it will come with experience.  I will practice qualifying laps a lot when we are back in Europe.  Now I am closer to  Narain compared to Melbourne and Sepang, so I am definitely getting better."

Karthikeyan, who has earned some rave reviews for his commitment in the EJ15 car, said: "My lap was good in general but the air and track temperatures were very high so it will be interesting to see what will happen during the race.

"I really enjoyed driving on this circuit as there are lot of straights and stops. Now I am looking forward to racing tomorrow and I hope we will finish the race again."

Jordan's sporting director Trevor Carlin expressed some disappointment about the team's performance after failing to repeat the form that had earned Karthikeyan the eighth fastest time in third practice.

"We are slightly disappointed not to be a little bit closer to the ultimate pace as we had a very good morning run with both cars. Maybe the higher temperatures have just affected our balance, but we still think we have a good set up for the Grand Prix tomorrow."