After spending two days at Mercedes F1 HQ in Brackley and visiting its engine division in Brixworth, Michael Schumacher admits being highly impressed.

"I was at the factory in Brackley for two days," he writes on his website, "and spent the time getting to know the engineers and the structures a bit better. I am extremely positive surprised about how motivated everbody was. This is a world champion team but it does not seem to be spoilt by success at all; it seems to be hungry for more instead!

"It is important for me to be informed about everything and it was very interesting to get to understand the engineers and their structures and the way they work," he continued. "I was there already around the time of the signing of the contract and learned a lot, but now I have seen much more about the team.

"I also was at the Mercedes-factory in Brixworth," he revealed, "and I have to say that I am very impressed about the high level you see there. In Brixworth the people seem to be highly motivated as well and I find that encouraging, as it perfectly fits my personal mood.

"What I also liked was that you hear a lot of people speaking German there. That is nice for once, I am not so much used to that at my work, and I find it quite convenient."