Michael Schumacher insists he will be approaching his best form in Barcelona this weekend.

The German genius returned to the spectacle of speed this season after a three-year break.

However, Schumacher hasn’t found the going easy back on the grid having struggled both for pace and points.
After four Grand Prix, the seven-time champion only has ten points and is well off the pace at the front of the grid with defending champion Jenson Button on 60.

But Schumacher is backing himself to get back to his best at the Spanish GP on Sunday.

“I am hoping for a better race in Barcelona than I had in China and of course I would not mind having had better results so far,” he said.

“However, the good news is that after three years away, I am feeling extremely motivated. So I am clearly ready to take this challenge.”

To be fair to the 41-year-old, his Mercedes car hasn’t been as quick as he would have hoped it having the same team (Brawn GP) that saw Button to the title last year.  And Schumacher is sure that with the season now taking place in Europe for the summer, Mercedes will see the benefit of the extra testing they can do although he warned people not to expect miracles.

“Our step forward in Barcelona will be bigger than you can make at each race during the flyaways but it would not be realistic to expect us to suddenly be competing right at the front,” he said.

“The European season is about to kick off and now we will see how our developments look in relation to those of the other teams.

“Every team will come to Barcelona with a revised car and so of course do we. I see a lot of potential here especially as our team has been reacting very well over the past four races.”

Mercedes boss Ross Brawn agreed with his main man’s assessment.

“Everyone at our factories has worked extremely hard to ensure that the cars and our new developments are ready for Barcelona following the delayed return from China,” Brawn said.