China's Ma still hopeful after wet practice session at S'pore GP

SINGAPORE (AFP) - China's Ma Qinghua was hopeful of securing another Formula One outing with HRT after coping with a tough practice session on a wet, floodlit Singapore Grand Prix street circuit.

Two weeks after becoming the first Chinese driver to race in a Formula One practice session, when he placed last in Italy, Ma again trailed the field on Friday evening.

But the 24-year-old slim Shanghai native said he was learning fast after swapping the fast, traditional Monza circuit for tight and twisty Singapore, dampened by an afternoon downpour.

"It was very difficult," Ma said, after clocking a best time of 1min 58.053sec around the 5.1km course.