• Bahrain Grand Prix - FP2

Schumacher's fast lap ruined by traffic

Michael Schumacher was unable to set a representative lap time on soft tyres © Sutton Images

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• Report:
• Rosberg easily clear of the field in FP2
  

• Race:
• Bahrain Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Michael Schumacher

• Teams:
• Mercedes

Michael Schumacher declared himself pleased with the start to the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend but said his fast lap in second practice was ruined by traffic.

Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap of the afternoon session to show that Mercedes will once again be a real contender for pole position, but Schumacher ended FP2 a second off the pace having encountered a slow-moving Caterham during his flying lap. Despite that slight frustration, Schumacher said he was happy with the car's long run pace and that looking after the tyres would be crucial on Sunday.

"We started well today, and our long runs are satisfying as well as our overall times," Schumacher said. "Unfortunately I could not complete my fast lap properly due to traffic. We will have to see what the outcome will be tomorrow and on Sunday as the tyres go away very quickly. You really have to stay within the limit of them, that's going to be the main issue. Let's see what we can make out of it but the start of the weekend has definitely not been too bad for us."

Norbert Haug was even more optimistic, saying that the team had learned "quite a lot" about how to look after the tyres in race conditions.

"We had a pretty good first day learning quite a lot about the big challenge of how to use the tyres in the best possible way and make them last during the necessary number of laps in the race," he said. "There was more grip in the second session which helped. We still have room for improvement but I think our team has a good understanding of what will be required here on Sunday. Having said that, it is much too early to judge where we are compared to our competitors."

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