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Schumacher: Renault still the team to beat

Renault are the team best prepared so far, followed by Honda Racing. That is the assessment of former world champion Michael Schumacher, after a day of testing at the Barcelona circuit in Spain

The Ferrari driver, in his 15th year in Formula One, ran the new 248 F1 car for the first time alongside rival teams, with all but Williams and Midland present at the Catalunya track.

Asked today what were his impressions of the rival cars, Schumacher told autosport.com: "Renault looks well prepared, as well as Honda - they also look to be prepared. After them, BMW seem to do a reasonable job, considering it's their first car.

"But, as I said, Renault seem to be best prepared - they are the ones to beat. They are looking very fast. This is the picture we get at the moment."

Nevertheless, Schumacher was confident the new 248 will allow him to challenge for the world championship again, saying: "We are quite happy with the new car. We are pretty reliable and we have small issues, not major.

"The speed is looking quite promising, so all in all we have come up with a car that will help us fight for the championship again."

Testing at Barcelona was cut short today due to snow, and most teams will now resume their pre-season preparations at Valencia in Spain next week.

And Schumacher will have a unique opportunity, to test alongside MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi, who will for the first time participate in Ferrari's testing programme along other teams.

Asked, however, if he would provide Rossi any help next week, Schumacher - an avid motorcycle rider - replied:  "I hope he will take his bike down there; then I can show him a good [racing] line on his bike."
 

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