Mick Schumacher climbed into SF71H today as he became the fifth driver to participate in Ferrari’s week-long private test at Fiorano.
Schumacher first drove the car in a Ferrari Driver Academy test in late September as he successfully completed the first half of his programme at this test across this afternoon, with the second half set to be conducted on Friday (29 January) morning.
Speaking on getting back into the car and initial thoughts on his running of over 50 laps, Schumacher said; “Finally sitting in a race car again is a feeling I was missing a lot. I think today has definitely been a positive day at the track.”
Schumacher will drive for Haas this season as he graduates to F1 and managed to conduct trouble-free running today, with the German saying; “We managed to get through the entire programme that we had scheduled without any problems and it was clearly useful to be able to get through so much mileage at the wheel of a car in view of the coming season…”
Although Schumacher was driving a SF71H at the test with the car having been driven in the 2018 F1 season, he noted that the car’s behaviour on track and feelings for the driver weren’t too different, especially “… in terms of how it behaves on the track and physical stress.”
The reigning F2 champion therefore felt that this was an “excellent base” for his preparation aided by a ‘technical and demanding’ Fiorano circuit.
Carlos Sainz meanwhile competed his day-and-a-half test this morning in which he completed over 150 laps across yesterday and this morning, before he conducted his first full interview for the Scuderia in which he spoke of Ferrari’s difficult 2020 campaign.
Acknowledging that every team is bound to experience ‘difficult moments’ throughout their time in F1, Sainz argued that the response is crucial, saying; “What really matters is the ability to bounce back. History shows that teams that won in the past are capable of being competitive once again.”
Sainz added that he has ‘full confidence’ in Ferrari’s project even though he expects time to be important in adapting and ensuring that the Scuderia’s project is executed to maximum potential, in order to enable the team to return to their winning ways.
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