The 19-year-old German, an emerging talent just as seven times champion Schumacher threatens to depart the scene, lapped the fastest and oldest circuit on the calendar in one minute 22.631 seconds.

Schumacher, whose fans fear that he will announce his retirement at the end of the season after Ferrari's home grand prix on Sunday, was second quickest on the timesheets but the fastest race driver.

In a show of Ferrari strength, Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa -- winner of the last race in Turkey -- was third while Schumacher's title rival Fernando Alonso was eighth in his Renault.

World champion Alonso leads Schumacher by 12 points in the championship with four races, including Sunday, remaining.

"It's a bit too early to make any snap judgements," said Schumacher. "I would say we had a normal day.

"Of course I want to win, but I don't think the gap we saw today will stay like this through the weekend," added the German, who is using the same engine he had in Turkey while Alonso has a new and more powerful one.

His Spanish rival hoped that would be the case: "The times suggest we are not so quick, especially compared to Ferrari, but this is Friday and we know how much things can change through the weekend.

"I am confident the car will feel good tomorrow."

FINED AGAIN

Schumacher was the German the 15,000-strong Friday crowd had turned up to see but for the second race weekend in a row, Vettel was the fastest on the circuit.

At the previous race in Turkey, where Vettel became the youngest driver to take part in a grand prix weekend, he had also been quickest.

In Istanbul he showed he was a young man in a hurry by speeding in the pitlane within seconds of his debut and he was hit with another penalty -- this time for $3,500 -- for the same offence on Friday.

The team said he would have to pay it himself.

Vettel will not race on Sunday, a day that promises to be all Schumacher's in what could be his home farewell to the Ferrari faithful after a decade with the Italian glamour team.

"Schumy and Ferrari=Eternal Love," declared one giant red banner hanging over the grandstand rails. "Michael, I beg you not to leave Ferrari," said another.

Neither Schumacher nor Alonso took to the track in a morning session stopped for 10 minutes when Honda test driver Anthony Davidson suffered an engine failure.

Davidson suffered an even more dramatic failure in the afternoon, pulling over with the rear of his car in flames as Honda's efforts to introduce a new specification engine backfired.

Neither Briton Jenson Button nor team mate Rubens Barrichello left the pit lane, allowing them to change back to the former specification engines without penalty.