Haas’ Mick Schumacher has admitted that he is looking to “improve” after enduring a difficult Friday Practice ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Schumacher finished 19th in FP1 before improving to 18th in FP2 but the rookie feels that there are huge lessons to learn from the day’s running.
FP1 took place mid-afternoon local time in “really hot conditions” which Schumacher admitted that he hadn’t properly experienced before, having avoided the worst of the heat in pre-season testing and two previous F2 visits.
He however commented that the conditions were beneficial for his experience, saying; “… it was good for learning – understanding how the car behaves in those conditions.”
FP2 however took place under the lights with a change of wind direction which the 22 year-old admitted that he had struggled with, until receiving data on how to best approach corners from which improved how they handled the conditions.
Schumacher though “felt comfortable” in the Haas but admitted that there is work to do, saying; “I know there’s a lot to improve from my side still, as a driver I know I have the tools to improve the lap time. I’ll be working hard on myself to keep improving and keep learning.”
‘Quite Challenging’
Nikita Mazepin meanwhile was slowest across both practice sessions in a day which the Russian admitted was “quite challenging” for him.
Reflecting on how “difficult” the car was compared to pre-season testing, Mazepin commented; “The track today was much slower and that made driving today much more challenging – for us at least. With 23 rounds you’re going to experience very different things.”
Team Principal, Guenther Steiner meanwhile is “pretty happy” with how the day unfolded, adding; “We got all our laps in and there were no mistakes made, it was solid throughout.”
Steiner was also pleased with the drivers’ feedback and balance of the car despite struggling with some balance issues in FP2 despite winds affecting the track conditions.
Leave a Reply