Narain crashed in the first lap during the second practice session in the morning, but came surging back in the afternoon to make the third row on the starting grid.

The accident caused a lot of damage to the car and put a hole in the tub. Narain was therefore unable to set a competitive time. The team carried out the repairs, including the hole in the tub where the pushrod had passed through, and managed to have the car running for the second qualifying session in the afternoon.

Leading timings: Manning (2 minutes, 14.10 seconds), Button (2:14.66), Lechner (2:14.92), Sundberg (2:15.06), Couto (2:15.15), Karthikeyan (2:15.32), Burti (2:15.88) 13.