Vitantonio Liuzzi declared himself happy with his first day of testing with the Hispania Racing F1 team. The 30-year-old Italian finished the day 12th fastest of the 14 drivers and completed 70 laps in the HRT, though he was sidelined during the afternoon by a gearbox problem.
"Today was positive," he said. "We made a lot of changes on the car, focusing particularly on the setup and the tires. It was a chance for me to get to know the new tires and the team as it was my first day.
"We couldn't do a lot of laps in the afternoon, but we were able to clock a good time given the circumstances. We did long runs and short runs to test the performance of the car. Overall, I believe we've taken a step forwards with the balance."
HRT team boss Colin Kolles added: "It was nice to see Tonio driving for us today, our aim was none other than to have him get used to the car.
"We tested different settings on the balance during both sessions and, looking at the times, we clearly improved as the day went on. We are very happy with Tonio's work today."