Schumacher eyes top five on the grid

Although the Mercedes driver finished near the bottom of the times in the opening session, things were better in the afternoon, and the German posted the sixth quickest time.

Schumacher, who went off track a couple of times during the day, believes his team can aim for top five in qualifying and maybe higher for the race.

"Today's sessions were a bit mixed due to the weather conditions but we were able to get the car working by the end so it was a reasonable day," said Schumacher.

"One of my excursions caused some damage to the floor which led to a second excursion afterwards and we decided to stop slightly early this afternoon.

"We are looking reasonable over one lap and on longer runs, confirming what we already hinted at during the last weekend in Silverstone. If everything goes as it should tomorrow, we should reach fifth or sixth position, which is a step forward, and maybe even more in the race.

"But for sure, we will do everything possible to achieve a good result for our fans at our home race."

Schumacher finished right behind team-mate Nico Rosberg, who despite his promising performance said he was not happy with the balance of his car.

"In the wet conditions this morning, the car was very good and our pace looked quick," said Rosberg. "It was more difficult to get the intermediate tyres working, however we didn't do many laps so I'm sure we would have been fine there too.

"In the dry this afternoon, I was less happy with the balance of the car in general. It was difficult as there was so little time to try and do our usual programme so we had to focus on the long runs without making too many set-up changes.

"We need to have a good look at the data and see what we can change without taking too many risks as I'm not completely happy with the balance yet."