Michael Schumacher took over testing duties for the final day of the Jerez test for the Mercedes GP team, as they continued to develop the set-up of their new car.
A damp start prevented anything more than a few exploratory laps early in the day, but once a dry line had emerged the seven-time World Champion completed 84 laps in the MGP W01.
The German was only the fifth fastest driver, but is not bothered that other teams are setting faster lap times. “We completed everything that we wanted and were able to increase our understanding of the car a step further so overall it's been positive. It's very tough to understand the order of the teams just yet as everyone can play so much with the fuel loads. So there is a lot of speculation going on but it's very interesting!”
Ross Brawn was pleased with the week's testing, despite tricky weather conditions. “It's been a difficult week weather-wise for all of the teams out in Jerez however we have achieved a significant amount of mileage in both the wet and dry conditions and completed some important test items on our pre-season testing programme. This week has enabled us to increase our understanding of both the car and the tyres and our focus for the final two tests will be to continue to develop the performance of the MGP W01 and ensure the team and our drivers are fully prepared for the first race.”
Mercedes will be present at the next test in Jerez starting on 17th February.
