Sauber goes against the grain

Fisichella, who has twice finished on the podium in Monaco, has complained that Bridgestone's tyres have, in the past, not been quick enough over a single lap. At Monaco, it seems, that trend has reversed, in that its softer tyre is quick over one lap but then loses grip due to graining.

"Things could be good, but our problem today was the rear tyres graining quite badly," said Fisichella, who was 14th fastest on Thursday. "Ironically, in view of what our experience has been so far this year, the tyres were good on the first lap, but grained after that."

Team-mate Felipe Massa, who was some seven tenths slower than Fisi, said: "We worked hard today on gathering data to make the right tyre choice. On a long run the balance of the car was not too bad.

"I had some graining on the rears, but you expect that here when the track is still green, and I'm sure the track will be better on Saturday. Unfortunately on my quick lap I made a mistake at Sainte Devote and locked the front wheels, so I lost some time there."