Schu happy, but admits quali pace rusty

Michael Schumacher says he felt much happier with the handling of his Mercedes W01 in the second session in Bahrain although he has admitted he is still a "little rusty on qualifying-style runs.The German legend appeared to be enduring a frustrating time in his first Formula 1 practice session for over three years on Friday morning, his car bottoming out during the new twisty middle section of the Sakhir lap which contributed to him only setting the ninth-quickest time.But following set-up changes to both its drivers' cars between sessions, the Brackley squad found a much better balance in the afternoon which allowed Nico Rosberg and Schumacher to set promising first and third fastest times.The changes have left Schumacher feeling encouraged for the weekend ahead, even if he is not yet entirely happy with his one-lap pace compared to his performance over the longer distances."We worked very well this afternoon after having a few issues with the balance this morning, he said. The car felt much better in the second session although I am still a little rusty on one lap runs and need to get back into the routine. On the long runs, the car felt good and once you get into the rhythm, it feels very natural. I'm happy with our work today and feeling ready for the weekend."Rosberg, meanwhile, may feel he has struck the first blow in his intra-team battle with compatriot Schumacher after outpacing the 41-year-old in their first two sessions on track together even if the huge variations in potential fuel loads cars can be running this year ensure it is still difficult to make meaningful comparisons at this stage.The former Williams man, who ended the afternoon over 0.4s quicker than nearest challengers Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Schumacher, also felt the set-up changes had paid dividends. "We improved the car over the course of the day but it didn't feel great initially with the new track, lower downforce and the conditions were very sandy this morning, he said.So we had a few balance issues to work on but it came together very well this afternoon. There are areas where we can still improve but we have a good comparison with the tyre compounds and on the long runs. Overall we learnt a great deal today so it's a positive start to the weekend."Unlike some of its chief rivals, the former Brawn squad had waited until the opening day of the season before introducing its Bahrain-spec package onto its car, with a revised double diffuser the main addition.But although its afternoon times suggest the team could be right in the hunt for race victories from the off after all, team boss Ross Brawn is still not reading too much into the times.We worked well to overcome some initial balance concerns which Nico and Michael experienced and achieved some very valuable work this afternoon, he said.I feel we still need to make some progress so we need to wait and see how we will match up to our competitors when qualifying gets underway tomorrow."