Michael Schumacher has admitted that age may be a factor in his struggle to get back up to speed after returning to formula one this year.

To date, having returned with Mercedes in 2010 following a three year retirement, the seven time world champion has explained his lack of results as due mainly to technical factors, including today’s Bridgestone tyres and the characteristics of the W01 car.

But the German is now quoted by News of the World: “At the end of the day there are physics.  How can a 41-year-old be as good as a top-level 23 or 24-year-old?

“I have experience and a high level of speed, but if it is the same as at my high periods in Ferrari I don’t think we will ever know,” added Schumacher.

“At Ferrari I had been working for ten years to make that level.  This time I have been with a whole new team just for one year.”

Schumacher, having won a record 91 grand prix victories between 1992 and 2006, has not appeared on the podium so far in 2010, and is 58 points behind his 25-year-old teammate Nico Rosberg.

After a run of poor results for the Maranello based team, Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says he wants to see a “strong reaction” this weekend at Hockenheim.

“Whoever does not believe we can win the world championship should find another job,” he insisted.

Domenicali said abandoning the 2010 car to focus on its successor is not yet a consideration.

“Before making calculations we must take home podiums and victories,” he said in an interview with La Stampa. “There is a tide of points at stake.”

Domenicali said he can understand some recent criticism of Ferrari, but reveals he was “hurt” when it was suggested the team is in “disarray”.

One criticism is that while Red Bull pioneered the blown diffuser and McLaren the F-duct, Ferrari has recently been light on innovation.

“We have done less visible things: the wheels, some aerodynamic. But I do accept the criticism: some striking solutions have come out.”

He defended the arguably erratic performances so far of team newcomer Fernando Alonso.

“Driving for Ferrari has a different weight. Some say that once you are in the car it is all the same, which is absolutely not true: the pressures on our team are not comparable to the other teams, Red Bull, McLaren or Mercedes.”

Domenicali believes Ferrari is simply in a period of “renewal”.

“To win, you need to go through those periods. After a wonderful time, the basic rules have changed: at first everything was unlimited but now you must think about budgets and simulations.

“Imagine that tomorrow all football is played on synthetic grass; the sport is the same, but the preparation, the materials, the techniques would all change.”

Before the race on the Ile Notre Dame in Montreal to face the teams on two main questions: Is it early in the race to a safety car period? Which tires should start the race? Sam Michael, Technical Director of the Williams team, explains his thoughts, which he makes in this regard before the clock start at 18 GMT.

“We have not yet decided whether we will start on the hard or soft compound,” said Michael. “There are two different approaches. If one assumes that there will be in the early stages of the race a Safety Car period, take the soft tires, to have used them and they runterzubekommen again.”
“If one does not believe that it is not the safety car comes out, you might want to be on the hard compound to be able to drive around for two long stints,” said Michael further. The Grand Prix of Canada would be one way or another for at least a two-stop race, because you could not possibly survive due to high tire wear, with only one tire change the distance of 70 laps.

Williams is with Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg the two best-placed driver who may choose their tires before the race, free. Michael would therefore not exclude that we could possibly send its pilots with different strategies in the race to be prepared for all eventualities.
But a look into the past leaving Michael to assume that safety car driver Bernd will turn out Mayländer with high probability during the race. “The likelihood of a safety car deployment is very high. It was always like that. We had been in 19 races Safety Car periods, sometimes up to four per race.”

There are many indications that this in this year’s race will hardly be otherwise. “Now we have six more cars on the grid and to two types of tires that will be hard to drive due to the strong graining – all of which increases the probability of safety car interventions,” said Michael concludes.

Under a sunshine that the ‘scuderias’ in the racetrack were thankful for, the second session of unveiling began in the Jerez circuit.  With the absence of Virgin Racing in the tracks, because there were no spare parts to repair the single-seater, most of the pilots ran for long periods of time.

Today restarted the work that could not be done yesterday due to bad weather.  The teams have collected more data and have been playing the cat and the mouse.  Buemi’s Toro Rosso stopped the chronometer at 1:20.026, getting the best time of the day.

Many tests and many data, would be the balance of the day, where the expected Valencia time duel did not happen.  The media were left with the feeling that the duo reserved for later on.  However, tomorrow if the climate allows it, there will be new unveiling with other pilots.

Time classification

1. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:20.026 (121 laps)
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:20.618 (83)
3. Nico Hulkenberg (Williams) 1:21.565 (67)
4. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) 1:20.754 (80)
5. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP) 1:21.083 (122)
6. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:21.377 (100)
7. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:21.424 (129)
8. Robert Kubica (Renault) 1:22.003 (101)
9. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:22.043 (29)
10. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:29.964 (11)

The afternoon session began with comments in the paddock regarding the possibility of seeing Fernando Alonso testing the Ferrari F10.  With a warmer weather and more grip on the tracks the single-seaters started to leave the boxes heading to the Valencian Ricardo Tormo Circuit’s racetrack in Cheste.

With a lost Austrian –we say ‘lost” because we didn’t see him through all the morning (strange thing)-, Lewis Hamilton started by lowering his morning times, 1:12.256, but still far from Felipe Massa’s chronometer and his F10.  That’s how the afternoon started.

At 3:30 the pilot from Austria was seen around the box, and rumors spread with regards to his possible participation in today’s tests.

Massa carried out many tyre tests –we assumed he was testing their performance-, explaining why the Brazilian entered the box continuously.  The same as Ferrari, the rest of the ‘scuderias’ tested their performance, thus the morning times were not improved.

The Renault improved only a bit.  The Polish, Robert Kubica, wearing a completely black helmet, continued to average very high times ( 1:14 ).  The R30 seems to have very little performance evolution compared to its predecessor, last year’s R29.

Today was a hard working day for Nico Rosberg who commanding his Mercedes GP made all kinds of tests.  Yesterday, his single-seater was very fast, but today it was slower marking 1:14. high times and running 25 lap periods to try the tyres out.

The Ferrari engine Sabuer of Kobayashi, after completing a period of 30 laps started to lower its times, becoming one of the fastest of the afternoon ( 1:12.667 ).  The Sauber is giving a good impression in these first tests.

The first impressions of Barichello on his Williams FW32’s Cosworth engine, indicate less speed (point) than the rest.  Specifically, around 8-12km/h (Mercedes and Ferrari).

In a bit more than an hour the session will end.   We’re walking towards the paddock to pick up some feelings.

Today, the Valencian circuit has had around 7.000 spectators, according to the organization.  A good number of people has gotten together to see the tests, so if climate conditions permit it, a higher number is expected for tomorrow with the attendance of Fernando Alonso in the racetrack.

Best times of the day.

1º Massa (1:11.722)

2º Kobayashi (1:12.056)

3º Hamilton (1:12.056)

4º Rosberg (1:12. 899)

5º Barrichello (1:13.377)