“We worked on improving the set-up and the car was well balanced,” said the German. “Looking at the lap times things were not too bad. The Michelins looked strong, but usually on a Friday, the McLarens run with a lighter fuel load than us, so I am not really surprised. I am not writing them off but I was paying more attention to what the Williams were doing and we were quicker today. However, that does not mean we will see the same situation tomorrow.”

Today Michael was ripping round the track in the magnificent F2002, quite a difference from the leisurely lap of the track he took yesterday on a bicycle. Schumacher took the chance to have a good close up look at the track and some of the new changes the tracks officials have made for this years event. It is not the first time Schumacher has taken to this track on two wheels and it probably wont be his last judging by the enjoyment he gets out of it.