Unwell Fisichella Unhappy with Sauber's Handling

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella is confident he will be fit for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix despite suffering from fever since he arrived in the Kingdom.

"I haven't been feeling too well since I got to Bahrain," said the Sauber driver. "I've had a high temperature and fever, but it doesn't actually affect me when I'm driving and I'm sure I'll be okay for the race."

Despite feeling unwell, Fisichella drove in today's practice sessions posting the 17th quickest time in his Petronas-powered C23 car. The Italian, however, said he was not happy with the handling.

"This morning was fine, but this afternoon wasn't so good," he said. "I had too much oversteer, so we have more work to do on set-up this evening. It is also still quite difficult for us to do a good lap first time out on new tyres."

Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa was the fastest of the Sauber duo, managing the 15th best time of the day.

"I did a long run this afternoon but there was so much traffic that I couldn't use all my laps," said Massa. "But at least we have an idea of the direction to take for tomorrow. The balance of the car needs improvement as I had a lot of oversteer on turn-in, but otherwise it wasn't too bad.

"My last lap should have been two or three tenths faster but I made a mistake in Turn 13 and spun. The grip level is okay here on the line, but once you get even slightly off it, it's like ice."