Michael Schumacher confident about Mercedes in Sepang race – Formula 1
Seven-time Formula 1 Champion, Michael Schumacher, expects a good fight in Sepang after having a successful Free Practice session.
The German stated that after leaving the Barcelona test on a high, MGP-02 has shown its real pace in Sepang.
Mercedes’ 2011 season did not start as expected because both drivers, Schumi and Nico Rosberg, didn’t see the chequered flag after facing separate incidents in the Australian Grand Prix. Both Mercedes’ cars were out of the competition in the first half of
the race.
Mercedes team brought some modifications to their 2011 car after their first three pre-season testing sessions, where they faced a lot of reliability issues. Mercedes team concluded the pre-season testing session on a high as Michael Schumacher was the fastest
man of the final testing in Barcelona.
In the First Free Practice session in Sepang, Mercedes were a completely changed team as they were the fighters behind the Red Bull team, besides McLaren. Although, both Nico and Schumi are still behind the Red Bull by quite a few seconds, but their reliability
issues have been addressed.
Schumi was happy about the performance of the team in Sepang as he said, “We had a pretty good first day on track here in Sepang. We definitely made a step in the right direction, we were closer to our level of performance from Barcelona than in Melbourne”.
Schumi added that all the systems including Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) and the rear wing worked well and will be helpful in the Qualifiers on Saturday.
Schumi’s third position along with Nico Rosberg’s seventh position in Friday’s practice session has finally kick started their team’s season.
Nico seemed happy about the performance and said, “Today was a productive day for us. We made progress on our set-up work compared to the last race and the team worked well”. Nico added that still some work needs to be done to beat the roaring Red Bull team.
The final Free Practice session will be contested on Saturday before the Qualifiers. A rainy Sunday race is expected in Sepang, which will spice-up the already nail-biting contest.
Tags: