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It's easier than I thought, says Schumacher
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-05 15:46
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VALENCIA, Spain: Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher admitted his high-profile return to Formula One after a three-year absence was easier than he thought.
The 41-year-old German was third fastest in his Mercedes on the final day of testing on Wednesday, just behind Ferrari's former double world champion Fernando Alonso and Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa.
"Actually, it's been much easier than I anticipated. I thought it would need a bit more time but it went pretty quickly," said Schumacher who put in a gruelling 82 laps.
"I'm really happy. I had a good first day, with a rather short run (40 laps) on Monday. Today we had a full day. A little hydraulic leak stopped us.
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"I'm feeling quite good. The main focus right now is to look at the reliability, do as many laps as you can, and don't worry too much about the lap times. I guess you look at them, but you need to focus."
Schumacher, who will teamup with Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, stunned F1 in December when he announced his return to the sport, leaping at the opportunity to work again with Ross Brawn, the man who helped guide him to his world title collection.
He will also be the focus of attention when the 2010 world championship opens in Bahrain on March 14.
However, he refused to get carried away by his performance in testing which also saw him clock the third fastest time in Monday's opening session.
"I think we will be competitive but whether this is a winning car straightaway or not, that's another story. For me that's not so important - it's a long season," he said.
"We need to be there and taking points from the beginning. I wouldn't expect to be winning right from the beginning. It wasn't something that I was aiming for and expecting to be the case. But we need to be strong enough in development."
Testing continues in Jerez in Spain next week and Schumacher will again take track time.
AFP
