Schumacher Pleased with Quick Start

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher fired up his home crowd on Friday with the fastest time in free practice for the German Grand Prix.

After being pipped by BAR's British test driver Anthony Davidson in the morning, the six-times World Champion blasted back on a sweltering afternoon at Hockenheim with a lap of 1:15.001.

The German, who can take a record-equalling 11th win in 12 races on Sunday while also helping Ferrari secure their sixth successive Formula One constructors' title, was pleased with his day's work.

"Friday in Hockenheim has been quite pleasant," said Schumacher. "We worked well on the car and had clean runs, helped by the fact that right from the start of this morning's session, we had a good baseline in terms of car set-up.

"I am quite happy with the overall situation. I think today was a good preparation for tomorrow and Sunday's race, which I am looking forward to."

Schumacher's Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello had a troubled day and could only manage the ninth quickest time of the day.

"It was a tough day for me with a few problems - even the radio was not working for a while," said the Brazilian. "We now have to look at the set-up of the car and I am confident that after working tonight with my engineers, we will have a much better day tomorrow."