Ferrari has asked rival teams for permission to have Michael Schumacher test this year's car during the testing ban ahead of the European Grand Prix. The German driver will replace Felipe Massa at the Maranello-based squad in Valencia, but Schumacher had not driven a Formula 1 car since last year.

The seven-time champion has already began his preparations for the race, having taken to the Mugello circuit today in a two-year-old F2007 car. But Ferrari has written to the FIA and to its rival teams asking to allow Schumacher to test for a day with this year's F60 car in order to arrive better prepared for the Valencia race.