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Giancarlo Fisichella was pleased with his performance in the wet at Suzuka today - feeling it marked a breakthrough in his so far tricky time at Ferrari.

The Italian has not been on the pace in the dry since moving to the legendary team from Force India, but was a competitive fourth in the damp opening practice this morning.

"I am pleased with the way the session went this morning, because I quickly had quite a good feeling for the car in the wet and managed to improve with every passing lap, running at the same pace as the best," said Fisichella. "The day was all about the rain that however should not be a factor on Sunday, which makes everything more complicated."

Leading Ferrari engineer Chris Dyer said Fisichella had impressed the team with his wet-weather achievements.

"Giancarlo felt particularly comfortable in these conditions, which confirms his skill level," he said.

He reckons Ferrari will be in pretty good shape should the rain persist - although the forecasts predict a dry weekend. “This morning we managed to do a good job in the wet, first on the extremes and then on the intermediates," said Dyer. "Both drivers were reasonably happy with the handling of the car in these conditions. If it was to rain for the race, we have a good basis from which to work."

Both Ferrari drivers sat out most of the afternoon session, which was particularly wet, but team boss Stefano Domenicali said he felt it was important for them to do at least one run at the end.

“Even if there was no real technical reason for doing so, we decided to do at least one run at the end of the day, as a sign of respect to all the fans who remained glued to their seats in the grandstands, despite the rain,” he said.