"It was very good day and it was a fantastic experience - a lot of fun," he enthused. "The car is very fast and physically it is harder to drive than the cars I am used to driving. It requires a lot of effort.
"I am happy to get the chance to work with the
Formula One team and I think we did a good job. I didn't make any mistakes during the test session. We tried different set-ups and found a good one for the car. We have done a good job and now I am looking forward to getting the chance to test again."
Anthony Davidson showed
Super Aguri's bold predictions for improvement may not be quite as ambitious as they at first seemed with the sixth-fastest time, less than a second away from Massa's best, with fellow Brit James Rossiter eighth for
Honda.
Renault were further down the order than might have been expected, however, with
Heikki Kovalainen ninth and
Giancarlo Fisichella - making his first appearance in the car since October's season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix - a lowly 14th out of the 17 cars present. The duo spent the time focusing on tyre work and chassis set-up respectively.
"We lost a lot of running time this morning because it took a long time for the track to dry out properly," Kovalainen acknowledged, "We didn't see any point in running when the track wasn't ready. In spite of that, we did some important tests that help us better understand our conclusions from Barcelona, and that is a good step. We were not looking to set quick times but instead focused on the programme, and our progress meant it was a positive day for the team."
"This was a good day back at work for me," a relaxed Fisichella added. "I didn't run much this morning, and I was just concentrating on learning about the new tyres. I learned some useful things today, and will continue in the same direction tomorrow."
