Ralf enjoys his return to work

Ralf Schumacher was happy to put an end to his enforced “holiday” with an impressive performance on his return to Formula One in Shanghai today.

The Williams driver was second fastest in his first session since recovering from the spinal fractures he suffered at Indianapolis which kept him out for three months.

The German was in cheerful mood after finally ending his absence in impressive style.

After twice outpacing his seven-time world champion brother Michael, he said: “Being back in the car after three months I realised what I really missed and how enjoyable it is to drive a Formula One car.

“It is really good to be back working with the people even though it is only for three races.

“I never for one second thought about not racing again. To me that race [Indianapolis] stopped before the start.”

Schumacher admits the novelty of watching races from his armchair quickly wore off.

“It’s actually very interesting to watch a grand prix race from the outside,” he said. “To just look at it and see what kind of strategy people have.

“Certainly it’s not so easy. For the first three or four weeks I didn’t mind because I could barely move but you come back to a stage when you think you could drive but you are not allowed to and it gets a bit boring.”

Schumacher is not the only driver returning to Formula One this weekend, with Timo Glock and, more famously, Jacques Villeneuve back in race seats again.

The former world champion has returned to the paddock a much calmer personality than the troubled soul who left a year ago after countless fallings out with team owners and rival drivers.

After time to reflect, Villeneuve is determined to enjoy his second chance in Formula One and started steadily today for Renault, where he replaces the sacked Jarno Trulli.

He overcame a spin in first practice to finish 14th before ending the second session 15th.

Villeneuve, son of legendary Ferrari racer Gilles, said: “It feels like being back home, it’s nice. “The team is working well – they made it very easy to come back, made me comfortable.

“There is no pressure, no stress and we can just get down to working. This morning was just about getting the limit of the car and learning the track.

“It’s always better to be closer to your team-mate – it took a while to get there but I can use that benchmark.

“We did 45 laps today which is almost a race and there was no problem.

“When you have a year at home to enjoy what you like doing you relax. I’d been in racing since I was 17 and there was lots of pressure and stress, very political.

“It was great to sit down and look at life in general and now it leaves me to come back with a lot of positive energy.”