Schumacher flew Thursday from his home in Switzerland to Ferrari headquarters in Maranello to check the steering of the 2009 Ferrari on a simulator as well as getting measured for a specially moulded seat in the F60.

'I obviously also used the time to get further advice from the engineers about how we should progress,' said Schumacher, whose last F1 race was the Brazilian GP Oct 22, 2006 in Sao Paulo.

Despite Schumacher's long time out of F1, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo told German television station ARD in an interview in Rome that he was sure the German would cope.

'When I called Schumacher into the office, I saw the fire in his eyes,' he said.