One could be forgiven for thinking that seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher, is being given preferential treatment over his new Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, something that the Scuderia stated would not be happening with Felipe claiming that it was in his contract to be given equal treatment at the Maranello based team.

Claims of preferential treatment have made since the German driver first arrived at Ferrari ten years ago, but while it may seem that way, it really isn’t the case, now anyway.

Since its launch in late January, the 248F1 has undergone the majority of its testing with Schumacher at the wheel, causing a few whispers in the paddock that nothing has changed and that the German must be demanding preferential treatment, while that couldn’t’ be further from the truth. Michael has completed a total of 871 laps in the cockpit of the new 2006 Ferrari over a total of 14 testing days, while Felipe has completed just 302 over four days. Doesn’t seem very equal does it? Not at first glance, no, but, the facts must be looked at with caution.

While Michael has done an enormous amount of laps in the new car compared to Felipe, almost three times, Felipe has been putting in a lot of testing also, in the old modified F2004. To date, the Brazilian has completed a total of 597 laps in the hybrid car in comparison to Michael’s 47, bring the two drivers almost on par in regard to testing mileage, 899 for Felipe, 918 for Michael.

But, I can hear you saying, why has Michael had so much time in the new car and not Felipe? The answer to that is very simple actually. Michael is a seven time world champion with over twelve years of experience and renowned for his talents of setting up a Formula One contender to perfection. This is no insult to Massa, who is still finding his feet in the Italian team, and only actually contested three seasons in the pinnacle of Motorsports, just a fact. Michael was a major player in Ferrari’s new era that started at the turn of the century and even returned to work earlier than normal this season to help ensure they had the perfect weapon for the 2006 Formula One season. Therefore, to do just that, he needed to be in control of the new car, not the old one with obsolete tech specs.

Felipe will now benefit from the German driver’s talents in regard to setting up the new 248 F1 as was witnessed yesterday when, for the first time this winter, the team had two cars running simultaneously, something several of their rivals, such as Toyota, Williams, Honda and McLaren have been doing for some time now.