Schumacher optimistic after practice

Schumacher, a four times winner at Indianapolis, left it late to get out on track for the morning session but immediately posted the second best time of 1:12.458 before spinning off and finishing the session with his car deep in the gravel.

"The situation looks pretty good, which means we can tackle the rest of the weekend with confidence," said Schumacher, who trails Fernando Alonso by 25 points in the drivers' standings.

"Let's say I had more trouble trying to watch the (World Cup) quarter-finals on television than I did in the cockpit of my Ferrari.

"When I went off the track this morning, maybe I was still thinking a little bit too much about the grass on the football pitch. I am very happy that Germany beat Argentina."

With Germany's World Cup quarter-final decided to his satisfaction, Schumacher was able to give the second session his full attention but was unable to improve on his opening effort returning the sixth quickest time.

Teammate Felipe Massa also enjoyed a strong day, posting the fourth fastest time.

"It was a good day's work," said Massa. "The car and Bridgestone tyres all worked very well. We have to study the data carefully, but I feel I can say this is the best first day we have had over a Grand Prix weekend for quite some time.

"I worked a lot on checking the consistency of the tyres, doing some long runs which produced encouraging results. All in all, I am confident for qualifying tomorrow and Sunday's race."