Mar.4 (Mercedes) Michael Schumacher concluded the Mercedes AMG Petronas team’s pre-season testing programme today in Barcelona.
- Over 56 laps in the morning session, Michael worked through a series of set-up runs on the hard and soft compound Pirelli tyres.
- He continued a similar programme this afternoon with further set-up and aerodynamic evaluations.
- Michael completed 100 laps and 466 km today, his final day in the F1 W03 before the 2012 season begins.
Since its debut, the F1 W03 has completed 4450 km of pre-season mileage over eight group test days, one private test day and two 100 km filming days. The team will now return to its factories in Brackley and Brixworth to complete the final preparations before departing for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher:
“After four intensive days of testing this week, we are soon heading to Australia and it’s really time for the season to start. We are very happy with all the work we have been able to achieve, covering a lot of kilometres and learning a lot about our car which gives us a good basis to work from. The car felt good from the very beginning, and we have managed to improve it over the test days, so I think we can say that we are very well prepared. Again, what this means compared to our competitors is something I want only to go into after some races, as we all know that testing does not show everything. What we can say though is that the field is tighter than it has been, so we are looking forward to an exciting season.”
Ross Brawn:
“As we reach the end of an intense two weeks of testing with our new car, the F1 W03, firstly I would like to thank all of our team members at Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and dedication. It has been a demanding period for everyone involved, and I am very pleased with the work that we have achieved and the progress that we have seen. Over nine days of testing, Michael and Nico have put 4250 km on the F1 W03, and we have accomplished the majority of items on a very demanding test programme. There is a lot of hard work ahead back at base next week to analyse the results, however I am confident that we are in good shape for the start of the season. As usual, it would be unwise to make any judgement on our competitiveness at this stage, and I will certainly refrain from doing so! It is going to be fascinating to see how it all turns out and I’m sure that this is going to be a very exciting season for the teams and fans. We are all looking forward to the action getting underway in Australia in a fortnight.”