Michael Schumacher and Mercedes have edged Felipe Massa’s Ferrari from the top of the time sheets on Day 2 of Formula One testing at Jerez.

Schumacher’s best of 1:20.252s saw the German finish the day just 0.061s ahead of Massa.

Schumacher insisted that the team’s turnaround in fortunes today, having struggled with both speed and reliability throughout earlier winter testing, was not a publicity stunt.

“We were focusing on long runs yesterday, and that was the same today,” Schumacher told media at the circuit.

“Obviously that makes us a little bit quicker than some teams that have not tried those tyres.

“Saying this, we were not the only ones using them. They are available to everybody.

“If I’m correct, my fastest lap came at the start of a 10 lap run. I don’t know if that is short – you may interpret it how you want.”

Jenson Button went third fastest in the afternoon after a morning of installation runs for McLaren, while Jamie Alguersuari ended up fourth fastest in his Toro Rosso.

Mark Webber was only fifth for Red Bull Racing, but impressed observers with consistently fast long-runs in the RB7.

Adrian Sutil struggled to get a balance on the medium Pirelli tyre before ending up sixth.

Sergio Perez was seventh despite a sizeable shunt, while Vitaly Petrov had experienced multiple spins in his first day using Renault’s KERS, and was ninth behind Timo Glock in the Virgin.

The Jerez test wraps up tomorrow, when the focus will be firmly on the Lotus Renault team, as German Nick Heidfeld steps behind the wheel of the R31 for the first time.

See below for the Day 2 times