Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed how well reserve driver Mick Schumacher performed last week on his debut for the team, after completing a Pirelli tyre test.
Schumacher drove the W14 for the first-time last Wednesday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the German having reportedly “enjoyed the experience”.
Most of his work this season has been done in the simulator, something which helped the Silver Arrows achieve a double podium at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Signing him has certainly proved to have been the right choice, with Wolff admitting that the son of Michael Schumacher has become a “valuable member of the team”.
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“Following the Grand Prix in Spain, Mick got his first opportunity to drive the W14,” Wolff said.
“He settled in well during the Pirelli tyre test and enjoyed the experience. Mick has become a valuable member of the team already and his work in the simulator has proved useful in finding lap time, as we saw in Barcelona.”
With the Pirelli tyre test very much in the past, the Silver Arrows’ attention now switches to this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Mercedes aren’t expecting a strong weekend, due to the Circuit de Gilles-Villeneuve boasting several low-speed corners.
The W14 is much better suited to medium and high-speed corners, something which made it so strong at the Spanish GP.
Achieving consecutive double podiums is likely off the cards for Mercedes, with a top-five finish seemingly the target.
Wolff is aware that a challenging weekend awaits the team following their glorious Spanish GP, resulting in the Austrian wanting the team to “manage our expectations”.
“The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone’s efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track,” said Wolff.
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“We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from.
“But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races. The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we’re up for the challenge.
“We now move on to Montreal. With its long straights and low-speed corners, it’s not a track that we expect to suit our car as well as Barcelona did. No matter where the true pace of the car is this weekend, we will aim to maximise our result.
“The characteristics of the circuit will also provide further opportunity to learn about the W14 and feed into our development path.”