Ferrari blast Schumacher test block as unsporting
Ferrari blast Schumacher test block as unsporting
The seven-time world champion will fill in for Ferrari while Massa recovers.

Rome: Ferrari vented their frustration at rivals Williams and Red Bull on Tuesday after the teams said they were opposed to Michael Schumacher testing injured Brazilian Felipe Massa's F60 car.

Seven-times world champion Schumacher, who retired in 2006, is set to fill in for Ferrari while Massa recovers.

Formula One regulations do not allow track testing during the season, although Ferrari had hoped other teams would allow an exception after Massa fractured his skull in an accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix last month.

"Guess who opposed the test with the F60?" read a statement on Ferrari's website.

"A team that hasn't won anything for years and yet didn't pass over the opportunity to demonstrate once more a lack of spirit of fair play."

Williams last won the constructors championship in 1997, when Canada's Jacques Villeneuve topped the driver's standings for them too.

Ferrari also hit back at Williams' and Red Bull's argument that Schumacher should be treated no differently than Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari, who was unable to track test his car before his F1 debut for Toro Rosso in Hungary.

"Just for the record, the Scuderia Ferrari had given its approval to let Alguersuari test, but it seems even in this instance someone decided to stick to the precise wording of the regulations," it said.

Seven-times world champion Schumacher completed 70 laps in a 2007 version Ferrari at Mugello near Florence last Friday.

'Schumacher will give driving lessons'

Schumacher's return to Ferrari will be an education for some Formula One rivals, Bernie Ecclestone said on Tuesday.

"I think he's going to give one or two of them a driving lesson," the F1 supremo told a news conference.

The 40-year-old German is poised to return to the track at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23 in place of Massa.

The Brazilian is recovering from a fractured skull after being hit by a bouncing spring before crashing during qualifying for the Hungary Grand Prix last month.

"He obviously wouldn't have decided to come back unless he thought he was going to be competitive and Michael is a competitive guy," Ecclestone added.

The surprise return of F1's most successful driver, who retired at the end of 2006, has been hailed by motor sport fans and will provide intrigue ahead of the race in Spain.

His comeback will see McLaren's current world champion Lewis Hamilton, as well as Red Bull's title contender Sebastien Vettel -- nicknamed 'Baby Schumi' by his compatriots -- race for the first time against the man who dominated the sport for a decade.

"He's always been super popular even though he won too many races and people said he was boring. He was never boring and he won't be boring now," Ecclestone said.

"I think I was just as surprised as Willi Weber - his manager - he didn't know he was coming back (either). I think it was (Ferrari president) Luca di Montezemolo that convinced him."

Schumacher's preparations were hampered on Monday by the Red Bull and Williams teams who have opposed Ferrari's request to let the German test in Massa's F60 car prior to Valencia.

Formula One regulations do not allow track testing during the season, although Schumacher completed 70 laps in a 2007 version Ferrari at Mugello near Florence last Friday.

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