SpykerMF1 test driver Adrian Sutil's hopes to take his maiden win of the Macau Grand Prix took a dive on Thursday when he slammed heavily into the barrier at Fisherman's bend in the dying moments of Qualifying 1 at the Guia Circuit.

Desperate to set a time, Sutil ran too hot into the corner and crashed on exit, at the very same place that fellow red-flag-deliverer Charlie Kimball had ended just minutes before - which only caused further grief for the entire field with two red flag showings throughout the afternoon's 45 minute session.

Sutil was philosophical, "Well, qualifying, I had no real qualifying to be honest. The first lap, I was in traffic. The second lap, I had a problem with the car and I had to pit and lost a lot of time. With 9 minutes to go, I had to set a time and I pushed a little bit too much and destroyed my car quite hard. We'll have another go tomorrow and it should be fine."

BMW Sauber F1 test driver Sebastian Vettel also had to deal with his fair share of problems and an uncompetitive finish to Day 1. With his Honda-Mugen powerplant suffering from a misfire, Vettel could only complete a minimal amount of laps in the morning's free practice, managing eighth in the final minutes of the session. Whilst qualifying saw a continuation of the morning's technical gremlins, leaving him in a disappointing 16th after the Stewards declared the session would not resume after the second red flag left just under three minutes on the clock.

As the all-out-favourite prior to the weekend, Vettel continued to be positive, "I was P16 in Qualifying 1. I had a problem with the engine that we have to sort out. We lost about 1 second in the first sector, which is not great. This carried through into Qualifying 1. I only got six laps in first practice, but the balance was really good. We'll have to see tomorrow."

With a WilliamsF1 test drive ahead, Kazuki Nakajima was a confident runner throughout morning practice, where he ran high on the timesheet throughout the session and secured third on his final dash. However, the double red-flag qualifying session disrupted his rhythm and he finished below expectation in a distant 14th place.

Nakajima hoped the dry conditions would continue, "This morning was ok, as I took third, but I didn't have a good balance on the car. At the beginning of qualifying, the balance was similar, but after we put on new tyres the overall feeling of the car was much better. This was evident as I could set a good Sector 2 time, but with the red flags I had no chance to improve. I must say that 14th is disappointing, but hopefully there will be no rain for tomorrow so I can improve. The overall grip levels out on the track is not very good, so hopefully tomorrow will be much better."

Japan's chances for a Macau winner in 2006 were doubled with another excellent performance by Formula 3 Euroseries pilote Kohei Hirate. Hirate showed strong form throughout both sessions with plenty of early running, and topped the timesheets during the morning's Free Practice session. Although qualifying was cruel to many, Hirate was again an early runner and cemented his competitiveness with a strong second. Hirate was enjoying his Formula 3 experience after his recent GP2 test, "At first, we started with used tyres and did three to four laps and I made a 14.3 which was P2 at that point in time. I pitted and added some more downforce and new tyres, however I went out just as we had the red flags. So I was only able to do one lap with the new tyres."

Britain's hopeful and GP2-darling Mike Conway showed consistency pays with a fourth in Free Practice and a sixth in Qualifying 1. As with many of the day's top runners, clean and clear early runs helped protect against red flags and heavy traffic disruptions. With Conway's goal being the top step of the podium, clear improvement is needed, "we went out on old tyres and did a couple of quick laps, reaching the top 6. However, we then went out on new tyres, and didn't really get a lap at all."

Thursday was a bag of mixed emotions for BP Ultimate Masters and Formula 3 Euroseries Champion Paul di Resta. The 2004 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver award recipient took 13th in the morning's Free Practice session. Knowing expectations are high, his comments were measured, "it went well, we just did what we had to do, stay clear of the walls. I just tried to be as clean as possible. I mean, I went straight out and found a second and a half, so you can't complain about that."

An improvement upon his time in Free Practice saw Di Resta move up to 10th for his maiden qualifying run at Macau. However, the ubiquitous red flags halted his progress up the timesheets. "I never got a run in the second part of the session, which affected us a lot. You know, up until the yellow flag stage. I was setting the sixth fastest lap on old tyres, so I cant complain too much. I think we needed to do a bit better today, but I'm happy because I'm a rookie. We can still do something. When you're competitive, anything is possible. I just have to prove it to myself, because I know we can do it."

With scattered thunderstorms forecasted for the remaining days of the Grand Prix, and technical dramas for the odds-on-favourite, anything is possible for tomorrow's Free Practice and Qualifying 2.

Stewart Bell - at Macau's Guia Circuit