Formula 1 Bahrain: That was Michael Schumacher's day

Michael Schumacher is back in Formula 1. In Bahrain, the returnees did his first laps after a three-year Grand Prix break in the M ercedes GP . In the first practice session in the morning, however, things didn't go as well as expected. 'We had some problems with the balance. The car wasn't that good yet,' the seven-time world champion analyzed afterwards.

In the afternoon the track became faster

Tenth place certainly didn't reflect real performance, which became clear in the afternoon: 'We changed the setup a bit and then things went better. The car feels good. Of course there is always room for improvement, but me I'm already quite happy with where we are. '

In the afternoon there was more rubber on the track and the times got faster. Right at the beginning, Schumacher put in a few fast laps on the asphalt. In the end, his best lap was enough for third place in the daily classification.

Schumacher is not fast enough on one lap

The record champion did not want to comment on the amount of fuel. Mercedes sports director Norbert Haug was at least a little more specific. 'We drove with a little less fuel, but we were still a long way from qualifying laps.'

The fact that Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg was half a second faster in the end annoyed the Germans a little. 'I felt really good at the long runs. I only get a little rusty on one lap.' Haug took the self-criticism calmly. 'He has several attempts in qualifying. We will work on it.'