Ferrari and Schumacher flex muscles at Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS, July 1 (Reuters) Ferrari flexed their muscles in final US Grand Prix practice today with Michael Schumacher lapping fastest ahead of team mate Felipe Massa.

On a scorching morning at Indianapolis, the seven times world champion clocked a time of one minute 10.760 seconds with Brazilian Massa just 0.279 seconds back.

Schumacher's best lap was just off the qualifying record of 1:10.223 set by his former-Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello in 2004.

The time served as an ominous warning with the German looking to revive his championship hopes with a fifth win in seven years at Indianapolis.

No other car was within a second of the Ferraris, Renault's Italian Giancarlo Fisichella posting the third quickest time followed by BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso, who is chasing his fifth win in a row but has yet to make it to the finish line at the US Grand Prix, was sixth fastest and 1.442 seconds slower than Schumacher.

For the second consecutive day, practice unfolded without incident.

Back at the Brickyard for the first time since last year's fiasco, when Michelin tyre failures led to just six cars starting the race, drivers received an enthusiastic welcome from a large crowd that just 12 months ago was showering the track with bottles and debris.

Reuters PM VV2123