Spyker yet to solve tyre issues

The Dutch squad have struggled to extract the maximum from the softer Bridgestone tyres over a single lap, making it difficult for their drivers to set a fast time on short stints.

And the problems continued on Friday in Melbourne, and although the team enjoyed a trouble-free day, Gascoyne admitted they are still to solve their tyre problems.

"Today went as expected and we had no real mechanical issues," said Gascoyne. "The first session's damp conditions made it difficult to gather any meaningful information, but it did give Adrian the opportunity to cover a lot of laps and familiarise himself with the circuit.

"In the second session we worked on comparing two tyres, but we're still struggling to get temperature into them in the cooler conditions today but this should improve over the weekend. Also we suffered with graining, especially on the softer tyre.

"We just have to get the tyres in the right window and then work to improve the performance of the car."

Adrian Sutil, making his Grand Prix debut this weekend, was the fastest Spyker driver with the 20th quickest time, ahead of teammate Christijan Albers.