Schumacher: It felt like 1991 again
Schumacher ended day one of the test in third place, behind Felipe Massa and Pedro de la Rosa
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By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 01, Feb 2010 06:09
By Adam Leveridge
Michael Schumacher felt as though he was back in 1991 at the beginning of his formula one career, after completing his first day of testing for Mercedes GP.
The seven-time world champion returned to the cockpit of an F1 car for the first time since his retirement in 2006 at the opening pre-season test of the year at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia on Monday.
The German ventured out on track for the first time in the afternoon, following his new and much younger team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Schumacher quickly got to grips with the MGP W01 and managed to go four tenths faster than Rosberg after just seven laps in the car.
"It was a perfect rollout for the new car today," said Schumacher.
"I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural.
"It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought 'wow that was really fast' and then on the second lap, I was just extremely excited.
"I feel like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself out there.
"We did a good job today, just making a few control checks, and the most important thing was that the car ran reliably.
"We covered 79 laps between us, it was a superb job by the team."
Rosberg felt positive after his initial run in the MGP W01, although he said it was difficult to come to any conclusions about the car's performance.
"It was a good first day of testing for us and my initial impressions of the new car are very positive," said Rosberg.
"Generally everything felt good although I was sitting too low in the car and couldn't see the track very well, which we will improve for tomorrow.
"It's too early to get an initial impression of the competitiveness but it was very special to drive the new Silver Arrow out of the garage.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow when we have a full day of testing to make further progress."
Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn said the team's priority was to perform system checks on the car to ensure that everything is working correctly, and to give both drivers an opportunity to acclimatize to the car.
"We have had a very useful first day of testing here in Valencia," said Brawn.
"Today's work has provided a good basis for the next couple of days and it was rewarding to see that the car ran reliably.
"It has been a very special day to work with Nico for the first time, to work with Michael once again and to complete our first active day as the Mercedes-Benz works team."
Rosberg will get back in the car tomorrow, while Schumacher will drive again during the third and final day of testing in Valencia.