Schumacher's 2018 F1 Ferrari test "an excellent base" for 2021

The German ran over 50 laps and completed some practice starts in the team's 2018 SF71H test car, which he had previously sampled at the same venue on 30 September.

This latest appearance was his third proper test outing with Ferrari, following an initial run with an SF19 in Bahrain in 2019.

He has also done two demo runs with the F2004 raced by his father Michael.

Schumacher's outing gave him a useful chance to get up to speed after the break since his test with Haas at Abu Dhabi last month, prior to his first experience of the US-owned team's 2021 car.

He will log further mileage on Friday morning prior to handing over to his 2020 F2 title rival and fellow Ferrari Driver Academy member Callum Illott.

"Finally sitting in a car again is a feeling I was missing a lot," said Schumacher. "I think today has definitely been a positive day at the track.

"We managed to get through the entire programme that we had scheduled without any problem and it was clearly very useful to be able to get through so much mileage at the wheel of a Formula 1 car in view of the coming season that will be starting in about a month and a half with the pre-season testing.

"The SF71H is a car from 2018, but its behaviour on the track and the feelings that it gives to the driver are very similar, both in terms of how it behaves on the track and physical stress to a current car.

"That makes it an excellent base when it comes to preparation for the new season.

"Driving at Fiorano is always great anyway because the track is technical and demanding.

"It's been a pleasure to meet up once again with the engineers and mechanics I worked with last September, and I can't wait to get back into the car tomorrow."

Ferrari test driver Ilott will handle the car on Friday afternoon as a busy five-day programme for the Maranello team comes to a conclusion.