The team got its first look at the upgraded Honda RA002E engine, after Olivier Panis ran it Wednesday. Giancarlo managed a best lap that was a bit quicker than the one posted by Panis who had reverted to the previous version of the engine.

Fisichella completed 41 laps and his quickest lap time of 1:13.45 placed him fifth on the time chart. He continued work on the engine development programme, and also worked on braking systems, tyre testing, launch and traction control, aerodynamics and general set-up.

"I’m fairly happy with the progress made over the last few days," Fisichella said. "We completed the program, and understood some new things about the brakes and set-up, which is what testing is all about. With regards to set-up we are very close to where we want to be and there have been some developments with the engine, which looks promising."