Championship leader Michael Schumacher had his first look at the Sakhir circuit today and he was impressed. 'It is very exciting to be in what is a new country for me, even if I have not had much time to visit it yet,' said the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver. 'The circuit looks spectacular with a good layout,' he added, having inspected it by scooter. 'For me, the preparation for a new circuit consists simply of finding out where the corners are and noting any points that might be tricky where you could make a mistake.The organisers here seem to have addressed many of the problems we encounter at other tracks, with excellent facilities and good working conditions for the mechanics.'

Asked what had impressed him most in the short space of time he had been in Bahrain, Schumacher replied: 'the people seem very nice and warm-hearted and the organisers have done an incredible job to build this facility in a relatively short space of time. But could the Sakhir circuit and the other new tracks on the calendar ever rival his favourite Spa-Francorchamps? 'Even Spa was new once and had no history, so we have to give it time where the new tracks are concerned,' he added.