Michael Schumacher and Mercedes completed their pre-season on-track preparations on the fourth and final day of testing in Barcelona.
Schumacher spent the morning doing qualifying simulations and developing the car set-up, and focused on race procedures in the afternoon. In total he completed 123 laps and was the sixth fastest driver of the day.
The German was pleased with the progress that the team were making, and is looking forward to getting to the first grand prix, to test his new car against his championship rivals. “The four testing days here in Barcelona have helped us to make significant progress with the MGP W01 and I am feeling quite confident for the start of the season. It is always difficult to read too much into testing but knowing our programme, it is fair to say that the times did not always reflect the true picture.
“We have worked through many set-up and development evaluations this week and gained valuable information to study before Bahrain. We are heading the first race with a good feeling and we know that we will have our upgrades there. But most of all we know that our prospects for even the first races are looking very reasonable now.”
Ross Brawn was pleased with both of his driver’s contributions and is confident of more performance improvements in Bahrain. “Today brings our pre-season testing programme to its conclusion and overall we are very pleased with the progress made with the MGP W01 and the integration of Michael and Nico into our team. In performance terms, we are not quite where we want to be yet but then again we are not far off. In testing, it is always difficult to be precise about your position relative to the competition, and we have our complete upgrade package due for the first race in Bahrain which should bring further improvements. Michael and Nico have both looked very good during the tests and they are working well together to improve the car.”
The next time Mercedes take to the track will be on Friday 12th March in Bahrain.
