Schumacher laments interruptions during practice in Singapore

The opening practice session was reduced to just 60 minutes after problems emerged with the kerbs at Turns 3 and 13.

With the track very slippery because its lack of use, Schumacher admitted it was far from ideal to lose valuable running time.

"As usual on these types of circuits, the track is pretty slippery and provides low grip. It was not really useful therefore that the practice time was cut, because we had a big programme to work on," said Schumacher, who finished as sixth quickest.

"But then, it was what it was, so we made the best out of it. The picture overall is probably as expected: no big surprises, and maybe the most obvious thing is that the difference between the tyres is quite big.

"For the rest, it is too early to say as we did not have the time yet to analyse the practice sessions fully. I like the race here; it is a bit like the modern Monaco, very exciting with more run-off areas."

Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg was also left ruing the time lost during the session, with a red flag also interrupting the running in the morning.

"It was difficult to learn a lot in the first practice session this evening due to the interruptions," he said. "However in the second session this evening, we were able to work through a lot of set-up changes and learn a lot about the car.

"I was on higher fuel levels to help our understanding of how to prepare the car for the race. It wasn't a perfect day but a decent day for me and hopefully we can make further progress tomorrow."