Michael Schumacher very happy Kimi Raikkonen is back in F1 this year

Seven-time champion Schumacher last raced against Raikkonen in 2006, before the German retired from the sport.

Raikkonen, who finished second to Schumacher in the 2003 season, is back in F1 this year after a two-year hiatus, racing for the Lotus team.

"I'm happy for him, very happy for him," said Schumacher at the end of the day at Jerez, where Raikkonen was quickest.

"It is the first day and let's see at the end of the three days (Sic) and then we can make a proper judgement of what those times were worth. But I am really happy for the team and for him."

He added: "It's great to have so many world champions on the grid. It is going to be a good show for all of us."

Mercedes driver Schumacher completed half a day of work at Jerez today after taking over from team-mate Nico Rosberg, who drove in the morning.

Despite using last year's car, Schumacher said the test was important to gather tyre data.

"Basically to understand the new tyres," he said of the point of the test. "To get the basics right, we can obviously do cambers, pressures, and you can understand the tyres. Yes, ideally you have the new car, but ideally you want to keep the new car in the windtunnel as long as possible.

"So it is this compromise, or this strategy in order to perform the best and we chose a different way than the others. Let's see how it pays out."

The German was happy with how the new rear tyres performed, and said they were more fun than last year's rubber.

"The rear end tyre is certainly better, a real comparison is not possible because we only had new tyres on. They are definitely more consistent and more fun to drive."