Vettel praises new aero package

The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver ended the first day of practice fifth fastest overall and, although not getting too carried away with the performance, was pleased with how things had panned out.

"I am very happy with the work we did today," said the German. "I had a good pace since the beginning of the morning session and we made changes that seemed to improve the car.

"Fifth looks very good, but you never know what fuel loads the others were running, but it's better than being 20th. The new aero package is a good step forward and should show its value on this track with lots of fast corners and quick changes of direction."

Teammate Sebastien Bourdais was less happy with how his day had gone, after struggling to find a good balance, but not too disheartened. He ended up 13th fastest in the afternoon.

"It's an enjoyable feeling to be taking part in my first home Grand Prix and to be close to the fans and I have a lot of good memories of this circuit," he said. "I got off on the wrong foot this morning, struggling to find the right balance on the car.

"The new aero package speaks for itself in that I think we are a bit more competitive, but we will have to see what happens in qualifying to see what the real improvement is.

"Today, I was not on the same programme as Sebastian and when earlier we were on the same set of tyres, the times were quite close between us. Therefore, given the difficult start this morning the day has ended up not so bad."