Michael Schumacher made no secret of the fact that he slowed Lewis Hamilton in the final two minutes of Friday practice on Friday. As the McLaren approached Valencia’s final corner, the championship leader was forced to dodge Schumacher’s Mercedes as the German prepared to start a hot lap, resulting in a hand gesture from the Englishman.
It was a mixed day for Mercedes, as Nico Rosberg – who led the field in Free Practice 1 – fell back to fourth in the afternoon, three and a half tenths of a second off quickest man Fernando Alonso’s pace. Schumacher, however, was a full second down and in 11th place at the venue which almost saw him make a comeback with Ferrari in 2009.
“It was exciting to drive the track for the first time today, probably even to a bigger extent than I had anticipated yesterday after checking it,” said the 7-time Champion.
"For me, this morning was mostly about getting a feeling for the track. The long runs went okay and all in all it was not too bad today, depending on the fuel loads which we obviously need to look into more deeply now.
“Regarding Lewis, I must apologise as I did not see him and was not informed that he was there. As I was planning my lap at that moment and looking ahead, I was unfortunately in his way.”
Further up the timesheets, Rosberg’s pace was slowed by tyre graining. “The Option (Super Soft compound) didn't seem to work well but it was the same for everyone and we made the most of it,” the younger German commented. “The team has done a good job on our upgrades and I'm sure that they have improved our competitiveness.
“We have a few bits and pieces to resolve overnight but we are on the right track, which is nice to see. We know that our race pace is better than our qualifying performance at the moment, so if we can get our qualifying right we should make good progress this weekend.”
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:39.283 | 33 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:39.339 | 27 |
| 3. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:39.427 | 29 |
| 4. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:39.650 | 22 |
| 5. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:39.749 | 24 |
| 6. | R. Kubica | Renault | 01:39.880 | 28 |
| 7. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:39.947 | 22 |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:40.020 | 30 |
| 9. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:40.029 | 27 |
| 10. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 01:40.174 | 33 |
| Full results | ||||
| Michael Schumacher | |||
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| More Michael Schumacher photos | |||
| Nico Rosberg | |||
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| More Nico Rosberg photos | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
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| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
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