Schumacher: I know I have the tools to improve the lap time

The 2020 Formula 2 champion was 19th and 18th in FP1 and FP2 respectively, while his teammate Nikita Mazepin finished both sessions in last.

Haas have been open with their intentions to focus on nailing the design of their 2022 car and that looks to have come at the expense of their short term prospects.

Schumacher's best time of 1.33.297 was just under two and a half seconds back from the fastest time set by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but the German is confident he can find time.

"FP1 was in really hot conditions, which was something I hadn't really experienced yet," he said following the conclusion of FP2. "It was cooking the tires up, and obviously the cockpit as well.

"But it was good for learning – understanding how the car behaves in those conditions. Moving into FP2, we knew the conditions would be completely different. Unfortunately, the wind also changed, it was something that everybody had to get used to and some people were struggling with it – so were we. Once we got the info on how to approach the corners everything then seemed a bit better.

"The long run was also interesting for us, and it was more mileage for me really. I felt comfortable in the car, which is a good sign and shows that we did enough work to prepare myself to get in and be comfortable. I know there's a lot to improve from my side still, as a driver I know I have the tools to improve the lap time. I'll be working hard on myself to keep improving and keep learning."

Mazepin, who had an off in FP2, added: "It was very special for me to take part in my first FP1 and FP2 sessions. That alone was very positive. On the technical side the day was quite challenging. There's been a lot of wind around, and it wasn't very consistent. These cars, compared to Formula 2, are much more effective with the wind in a positive way and also in a negative way. The car was quite difficult at times. Being realistic, we were very fortunate with the conditions achieved on the final day of testing, they were very fast. The track today was much slower and that made driving today much more challenging – for us at least. With 23 rounds you're going to experience very different things. It's about getting the most experience banked and that's definitely happened today."

Schumacher and Mazepin will have one more hour to get to grips with the VF-21 before their first qualifying session in F1.