Webber impresses with fourth

Once again Webber's rookie team-mate Christian Klien was some way off the Aussie's pace, setting a best that was 0.9s slower as he got to grips with the circuit for the first time. He was 14th in the second session.

Webber said he was pleased with progress: "I've had a good day here and despite the very hot humid conditions I am enjoying being out on track and seeing what we can do.

"The team has done a really good job in preparing the car and this is making it easier for me to get the most from the R5. Versus where we were last year when we were here with the R4, there is really no comparison. I spent most of today working on tyres and also set-up. The track is actually quite bumpy so it's quite hard going on the car and as we could see there was a lot of people spending time off-track too!"

Klien admitted that he was having trouble getting used to the track. "Again this was another new circuit for me so this makes it more difficult for me to spend time working on the set-up and balance," said the Austrian.

"I spent most of this morning working on circuit familiarisation and it is quite a hard track. There are some fast corners and I was doing my best to stay out of the gravel. This afternoon I spent more time working on tyres so I can discuss my option for the rest of the weekend, although Bjorn really helps out here."

Worryingly for Jaguar third driver Wirdheim stopped at the end of the second session with a suspected sensor failure. The problem came after gearbox problems for Webber in the race in Australia and a hydraulic and power steering failure for Klien in qualifying.