Ferrari proved that its rivals will have a fight on their hands to budge it from the top of Formula 1's tree after reigning champion Michael Schumacher shattered the lap record at Imola on Wednesday in the new F2004.

Schumacher lapped in a sensational 1m19.664s during his 98 laps, but said not to read too much into the ultimate pace of the car, despite the fast he broke into the 1m19s barrier twice.

"You can overestimate laptimes like this," he said. "This is the fourth test for the car, and the first showdown with the other teams. We have shown that the car is not slow. We've completed some very good work on it, and we've now completed lots of laps.

"You can say we are better prepared than last year, even though we used the old car for the first race. I don't think this [using the new car] will be a disadvantage. We are confident and I'm absolutely looking forward to Melbourne."