Michael Schumacher has admitted that Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren looked very strong in testing but warned that things could well be different by the time the teams line-up on the Bahrain grid.
“[McLaren] looked very strong today, no doubt,” Schumacher told the media about McLaren on Sunday.
“But then it depends on who is going to bring what to Bahrain. It’s something we’ll have to wait for to find out. We have some improvement [for Bahrain], but is it much or is it not compared with what the others may or may not do? It’s a puzzle that’s difficult to read.”
The 41-year old F1 veteran added that the mood at Mercedes was a positive one with the whole team looking forward to the start of the new season.
“We are generally positive. It’s hard work for everybody because you produce, you test, it’s long nights for the mechanics.
“It’s a lot of hard work and I’m thankful everybody is pushing like hell, both here and in the factory. In general we feel confident, so slowly things come together.”
Talking about testing, and the bigger picture, as the entire F1 world looks ahead to Bahrain, Schumacher admitted that he is happy with the way things are and is quietly confident ahead of the first race.
“Those four testing days here in Barcelona have helped a lot, and I am now quite confident for the beginning of the season. Quite often, we were carrying a lot of fuel, therefore the times did not always reflect the true picture.”
“We are heading to Bahrain with a good feeling because we know we will have additional new components on our car. But most of all we know that our prospects for the first races are looking very reasonable now.”
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