Raikkonen expects very strong Ferrari

The Finn, winner of the Magny-Cours race last season, was only third quickest in the afternoon session, behind Renault's Fernando Alonso and his own teammate Felipe Massa.

But the world champion was very pleased with his day's work and reckons his team will be strong all weekend.

"I am happy with the way things went during these two free practice sessions," said Raikkonen. "We got through all our usual Friday job list, working mainly towards the race.

"Of course we don't know how much fuel our main rivals were running, but I get the impression we are very competitive.

"Maybe I did not get the most out of the first lap, but I am happy with the balance of the car," added the Finn, who was also pleased with the tests of the new system to be used during safety car periods.

"I think it could be a good solution because it puts everyone in the same situation and that way, you can't be penalized just by unfortunate circumstances," he said.

Teammate Felipe Massa, fastest in the morning, was unable to complete long runs today after suffering from a stiff neck most of the day.

Despite the problem, the Brazilian was still happy with his work.

"It was a good day, apart from a slightly tight neck which I began to feel this morning: so as not to take any risks, I chose to avoid doing too many runs of several laps. I therefore concentrated on the car's set-up, working with both types of tyre.

"On the softer ones, it seems to be a little bit harder to find the right balance, but we must take into account that today, as usual on a Friday, the track is still dirty.

"Everyone suffered a bit with graining on the front tyres, but tomorrow the situation should improve. We must study all the data we have gathered to prepare as well as possible for qualifying and the race."