Spyker convinced of 'big step forward'

The Dutch team will introduce a significant aerodynamic update for the Sepang race, where Gascoyne reckons Spyker will be a lot more competitive than in Australia.

"We have made substantial modifications to the bodywork which should see a big step forward," said Gascoyne.

"Aerolab have extensively tested the parts and our second wind tunnel facility in the UK has validated the developments, so I'm pretty sure of the increase it's going to give."

Spyker, using Ferrari engines this season, struggled for pace in Melbourne, with Adrian Sutil finishing down in 17th position. His teammate Christijan Albers retired after making a driver error.

The team are the only ones who did not travel to Sepang for last week's test, so they have decided not to run their test drivers on Friday and instead give their racing duo as much track time as possible to familiarise with the upgraded car.

"The extra track time we now have available on a Friday will be useful to test the parts in representative race conditions, but the time is perhaps more important for the drivers than for us to test the parts," Gascoyne added.

"We're not running our test drivers in the sessions so both Adrian and Christijan can get as much experience of the updates and track time as possible. For Adrian in particular, the extra sessions will be useful as he has never driven this track before.