Michael Schumacher showed he was well prepared for his Formula 1 comeback on Monday when he quickly got up to pace during his first outing for Mercedes GP.
The seven-time World Champion took over the new W01 car from teammate Nico Rosberg shortly before 3:30 p.m. on the opening day of action at Valencia in Spain. Within a handful of laps, he had moved himself firmly into the middle order on the time sheets – quicker than Williams' Rubens Barrichello and Renault's Robert Kubica who have been lapping all day.
His best lap after his first stint was 1m14.255sec, which compares with the best time so far set by BMW Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa of 1m12.784sec. Schumacher will complete the day for Mercedes GP before returning to action on the final day on Wednesday.