Bruno Senna has pledged to fight until the final seconds of the season's closing race as he chases the GP2 Series crown at Monza.

The Brazilian will start Saturday's feature race from a disappointing twelfth place on the grid, but as Monza offers several potential overtaking opportunities all is by no means lost.

Indeed with the very real possibility of rain too, the pendulum could yet swing back in his favour as he looks to haul in current championship leader Giorgio Pantano and reduce the 13-point deficit.

"The balance of the car wasn't too bad, but we didn't have our gear ratios quite right. The problem here is that cars are very closely matched and a couple of tenths can make a difference of about six places. That hit me quite hard, because I found a little bit of traffic on my final lap, but that's racing," said Bruno philosophically.

"I know from testing in low-downforce trim that we should have a quick car in the race, but then again there's a possibility that the weather will be a factor. Either way I think we'll be in good shape."

Karun Chandhok meanwhile will start tenth in the sister iSport entry - and like Bruno he had a tough day on Friday in qualifying.

"I missed the first 15 minutes of qualifying because of a misfire – and that was frustrating because it cost me vital running time in the dry," Chandhok explained. "In the circumstances I don't think 10th was too bad, but with a couple more laps I think I could have gained a significant number of places.

"The car is definitely quick but the result doesn't reflect as much. I'll just have to prove the point on Saturday in the race."