Barcelona Day 1 – Return in Style for M. Schumacher

Michael Schumacher made a triumphant return to Formula 1 with Ferrari today for the first private tests of the 2007/2008 offseason. The German set the best time of day 1 on the Spanish circuit of Barcelona, 2 tenths ahead of his temporary teammate – Luca Badoer.

Like many others present today, the seven-time world champion, returning to the track after a year already in retirement, surprised with his lap times. But Coulthard might have been one of the most impressed: “I think I’ve seen a guy called Michael. I think with his talent he will be able to go far in F1,” joked the Scotsman from Red Bull…

With many drivers tested today, Bourdais was the other main attraction on this first day. Unfortunately for the four-time ChampCar champion, his arrival as a main driver at Toro Rosso was not easy. In fact, the Frenchman experienced alternator problems on his first lap, only to stop later due to a hydraulic issue. In the end, Bourdais finished more than a tenth behind his teammate, Vettel, in 15th position.

For this first time in over 6 years, the single-seaters were not allowed to run with traction control. It was the Ferraris that seemingly benefited the most, with Schumacher and Badoer securing a one-two finish… far ahead of their competitors and fortunately without rain, despite a threatening sky…

The first McLaren driver and on home ground, Pedro de la Rosa, secures the 3rd best time with nearly 8 tenths of a second behind the German. His teammate – Garry Paffett – is 6th.

With the one and only Renault present in Barcelona, Heikki Kovalainen achieves the 4th best performance by being one of the most daring on track with 81 laps. Only the Force India (formerly Spyker) covered more kilometers, but experienced many more problems and caused most of the red flags of the day.

Kubica, by setting his best lap in the last two minutes of the session, places his BMW in the top 5. Heidfeld, his teammate, is only 10th, 7 tenths further behind.

Nakajima also delivers a strong performance, finishing ahead of his teammate, Rosberg, by 0.6 seconds. The Japanese driver places his Williams in 7th position, while the German is in 11th.

Franck Montagny, who is conducting his final tests with Toyota this week, is in 12th place already more than 2 seconds behind Schumacher. “We didn’t run as much as expected this morning, but at least in the afternoon we were able to start our program and learn some things,” commented the Frenchman.

Several GP2 drivers were tested today. Zuber drove for Honda. He is 14th, and better placed than his teammate Rossiter.

Red Bull tested Karun Chandhok, while Force India, with a new burgundy and white livery (see the F1 photos), ran with Van der Garde and Rodriguez.

These three drivers are in the last three places of the standings.

Private Testing Spain – Barcelona – Day 1