Michael Schumacher topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at Jerez, the German completing 112 laps on his way to posting a best time of 1:20.352.

Running with the Mercedes KERS operational throughout the day to continue the German's familiarisation process, the team focused on system checks with shorter runs in the early part of the day, before progressing to set-up work and tyre evaluations with the medium and super soft tyre compounds over longer runs.

"It clearly was a productive day, and obviously I am happy about that," said Schumacher. "We were focusing on long runs and being able to produce a lot of mileage is positive in terms of reliability. It also gives us good data for the test days to come and for the developments we are working on. We are moving forward as we should during the testing period but at the same time, we are aware we have to keep pushing."

It was another good day for Felipe Massa and Ferrari, the Brazilian putting another 116 laps on the F150(th Italia) as the Italian team spent the morning analysing the behaviour of the four types of tyre brought here by Pirelli, while in the afternoon it was all about longer runs. According to the team, all the planned work was completed and it now falls to the engineers to analyse the mass of data gathered.

"On both days, I was always able to complete the programme we had planned," said Massa. "Today, we tried all four types of tyre and were able to acquire a lot of data. There is a lot of work to do before understanding the behaviour of the tyres and then to find the right set-up on the car.

"The times?" he continued, "it is always better to perform well, even if it does not mean much. From here to the first race, a lot will change, on our car and on those of the others.

"After just a few days of testing it really is impossible to say where we are compared to the others. We are trying to concentrate on our own job, without worrying about what our rivals are up to. The important thing is to understand in which direction we must go and how to solve our problems. The first race in Bahrain is still a very long way off.

"We have to try and understand the handling of the car as well as possible," he continued, "but clearly, when it comes to the rear wing, we still don't know how it will work in an overtaking situation," said Felipe. "So, it is important to have a reliable car to make the most of the time available."

Referring to today's pace-setter, his former teammate, the Brazilian said: "Well… it's not exactly a novelty for him to be in that position, given everything he has won in his career."

Jenson Button was on duty for McLaren, the Englishman getting his first run in the MP4-26 which was launched exactly one week ago. The morning was largely spent acclimatising to the new car, finding a perfect fit and making small improvements to driver ergonomics and comfort.

After another lunchtime strip-down, the engineers began a more concerted programme of running in the afternoon - albeit one punctuated by several lengthy red-flag stoppages.

At the end of the day, the team evaluated a number of further set-up changes, leaving Button - like Hamilton yesterday - feeling positive about the car's potential. These changes will be further pursued when he is back on duty on Sunday.