Mercedes GP upbeat after good Friday
Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were back in action today as the first two practice sessions ahead of the third race of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix, took place today at the Shanghai International Circuit.
· The focus for P1 was on aerodynamic evaluations and gaining an initial understanding of the set-up and tyres
· P2 focused on further tyre work and race preparation, combined with shorter qualifying-style runs
· Nico completed 57 laps and finished in P4 on the timesheets with Michael totalling 52 laps in P5
Nico Rosberg, MGP W02 / 03:
FP1: 23 laps, 1:41.361, P11
FP2: 34 laps, 1:37.943, P4
"Today we made a small step forward, particularly this morning where we learnt some positive things with the car compared to Malaysia. The balance was quite good today, and I really enjoy driving this track. We don't really know where we are right now, and of course what everyone was doing, but today's running gives me hope for an improved performance tomorrow."
Michael Schumacher, MGP W02 / 01:
FP1: 23 laps, 1:42.301, P18
FP2: 29 laps, 1:38.105, P5
"We've had a good working day here during the first outings on the Shanghai track. We have changed our working approach this weekend, and I think this has paid off. We concentrated mainly on high fuel loads, and it seems we can find the set-up better than starting from low fuel. The long runs were good in my view which is clearly an improvement on the first two races. There is room for further improvement so I look forward to understanding what we can achieve in qualifying."
Ross Brawn:
"We've had a reasonable day and achieved all of the work that we had planned for both cars. The engineers and drivers did a good job between the two sessions to improve the balance and everything ran smoothly. It's good to start the weekend with a positive day so we will see how we can continue to progress from here."
Norbert Haug:
"Certainly a more constructive Friday than we have experienced during the last two races, and a good amount of running for both Michael and Nico. For part of the session, Michael's KERS was not operational which cost him lap time. We will rectify this problem for tomorrow. On Saturday and Sunday, we will learn whether and how much we have improved."
Weather: Warm and overcast
Temperatures: Air: 26-27°C / Track: 28-35°C
