Schumacher 'shocked' by experience at Mercedes: 'I didn't expect that'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
After just two years as a regular driver in Formula 1, Mick Schumacher was traded by Haas for F1 veteran Nico Hulkenberg. However, he certainly did not become unemployed, as he was offered a reserve seat at Mercedes for the 2023 season. Schumacher elaborates on his new role and talks about how he experiences working with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
During his first season as a reserve driver at Mercedes, Schumacher is keeping a diary, which will be published in a new series of articles on the team's official website. In the first publication, the 24-year-old German talks about his first experiences at Toto Wolff's team.
Schumacher talks about new role at Mercedes
Schumacher says he was received with a warm welcome when he first stepped into the Brackley factory, where he has spent a lot of time in recent months. He soon noticed differences from his previous employer's approach. "I’m still getting used to the level of preparation that you see here, and I am trying to soak up as much information as I can," the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, who himself raced for Mercedes from 2010 to 2012, said.
Mercedes' brand-new reserve driver has already spent many days in the simulator. "Because I have raced a car under this new set of regulations, I have a good understanding of how to drive them. That has helped me in my role so far and hopefully added value for the team," Schumacher continued. "It’s impressive to drive the sim because it’s just so advanced, and I have been pushing to do more. It’s not enough for me to just sit on the side-lines, I want to be helpful wherever I can. Of course, it’s not the real thing and I would love to be driving the W14!"
Schumacher on working with Hamilton and Russell
Schumacher calls it "fascinating" to work with regular drivers Hamilton and Russell. "It’s an interesting period for me as I get to look over and work with two fantastic drivers, which you don’t always get to do," he continued. "I’ve learned a lot about what’s important in terms of approaching race weekends; I feel like I’ve already gained so much knowledge to add to my skillset. I didn’t think I would have learned and gained so much so early into my role."
What also came as a surprise to him was the amount of information shared between the team. "As a driver, you usually do not get to hear what is going on between all the engineers while you are out on the track, so listening in during the sessions has been extremely interesting. I was quite shocked at the season opener in Bahrain, I did not expect the sheer amount of exchange that happens," Schumacher said.