Michael Schumacher says he felt like he made his debut in Formula 1 after he tested for the first time a Mercedes GP F1 car in Valencia.

The seven times world champion was the headline of the first day of testing on the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, officially returning at the wheel of a F1 car after an absence of three seasons.

The German impressed from the start and finished the day 3rd, just four tenths of a second behaind the leader, Felipe Massa. Referring to his physical condition, Schumacher says he feels young again comparing the Valencia test with his Formula 1 debut in 1991.

“I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural. It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought ‘wow that was really fast’ and then on the second lap, I was just extremely excited. I feel like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself out there. We did a good job today, just making a few control checks, and the most important thing was that the car ran reliably,” Michael Schumacher said in a press release.

For the first time since 1995, Schumacher has driven for a different team than Ferrari and the German admitted that it was strange to see the red Scuderia car on the circuit without him being involved in the team. “Naturally it is a strange sensation seeing my old car on the track and not sitting in it. But it was good to see my ‘brother’ (Felipe Massa) in the car. And I have enjoyed seeing my friends down at Ferrari this week, ” he added. Schumacher will return to the wheel of the Mercedes GP car Wednesday, at the last day of testing at Valencia.