Mercedes GP: Schumacher and Rosberg's first day of testing

Yesterday the Mercedes GP Petronas team began preparation on the track in Valencia in view of the first race of the season by presenting the new MGP W01 which then debuted on the track immediately afterwards with Nico Rosberg. The young German concentrated on the initial set-up of the car, checking the comfort of the driving position and seat. Nico came out of the garage for the first installation lap at around 10.34am and completed five runs with 39 laps before finishing his day at 13.40pm, setting the fourth fastest time in 1.13.543. In the afternoon it was Michael Schumacher's turn to test the W01.

For the seven-time world champion, these were his first laps on the track in a contemporary F1 since April 2008. Taking to the track just after 15.30pm, Schumacher easily kept the pace and familiarized himself with the new car, completing 40 laps in three runs, with a best time of 1.12.947 which earned him the third fastest time of the day.

Rosberg will continue the team's program today while Schumacher will return to action on the last day of the week.

Nico Rossberg:
"It was a positive first day of testing for us and my first impressions of the new car are very positive. It's great to be behind the wheel of the car for the first time and start the test programme. Overall everything went well even though I was sitting too low and couldn't see the track very well, we will improve this aspect tomorrow (today, ed.) It's too early to have an initial impression of the competitiveness but it's really special to drive the new Freccia d' Silver. I'm looking forward to resuming testing and riding for a full day to make further progress."

Michael Schumacher:
"It was a perfect debut for the new car. I was totally at ease and everything really came naturally. I felt like at the beginning of my career in 1991, when on my first lap, I thought 'wow this is really fast" and then on the second lap I was just extremely excited.
I feel like a young boy again and I'm really enjoying this moment. We did a good job today, just a few checks, and the most important thing is that the car was reliable. Between Nico and me we covered 79 laps, a superb job by the team."