Australia seek cure for handling woes

Despite intense local track knowledge, lead driver Karl Reindler languished towards the foot of the times in free practice almost three seconds off the pace. Only a switch to new tyres in the closing minutes elevated him to 12th.

The Australian cited terrible handling problems for his poor performance: "The car just doesn't feel right. I've never had so much oversteer in my life. We put on the new tyres just to see if the initial batch was at fault, but they only disguised the problem.

"It really felt as if something was broken. They guys are looking at it now, but we've got a long way to go overnight."

Former Formula One world champion and Team Australia seat holder Alan Jones reiterated the scale of the problem. "We're just going to pull the thing to pieces and build it back up again," he said. "An hour goes very quickly when you're having problems."

There is just one hour-long practice session on Saturday morning ahead of A1GP qualifying and with overtaking difficult at Eastern Creek a good grid position is essential for a strong race finish this weekend.