Mercedes Barcelona testing - Day 1 report
Mercedes press release
The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 W03 made its official debut today at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. After an early morning unveiling in the pit lane by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, Michael then took the wheel for the day's running.
• A smooth morning session enabled the team to begin set-up comparisons with the new chassis
• A hydraulic problem identified during the afternoon session brought an early end to the planned programme
• Michael completed 51 laps today, taking the F1 W03's total mileage to 782 km to date
Nico will take over the programme tomorrow, with Michael back in the car on Thursday, and Nico concluding the test on Friday.
Michael Schumacher
"My initial feelings with our new car are certainly good. I'm happy with the different evaluations that we have done over the last week, but obviously with the rule changes, we won't know more until later. It's certainly an improvement and we have worked hard on the areas we had defined last year. The aerodynamics figures look good so I'm not worried about the shape of the nose! Even though we had the hydraulic problem today, I'm pleased with all the mileage we have achieved so far with the new car."
Date: Tuesday 21 February 2012
Track: Circuit de Catalunya
Weather: Sunny but cold
Driver: Michael Schumacher
No of Laps: 51 laps
Best Lap Time: 1:24.150
Kms Covered: 237 kms
Track Length: 4.655 km
F1 W03 Mileage: 782 km
Share Or Save This Story
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
F1 fans left emotional after Sebastian Vettel drives Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2002 at Monza
WATCH: Sebastian Vettel pays emotional Michael Schumacher tribute in Ferrari F2002 - "I felt him a lot today"
Why Max Verstappen says 0.196s Baku finish-line gap to George Russell is slightly misleading
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
Kimi Antonelli: I was "driving like my grandmother" in Baku F1 race
Isack Hadjar earns "team-mate points" after "exceptional comeback" in Baku, says Alex Brundle
Cleetus McFarland buys Greg Biffle's 2004 NASCAR Cup race car for $47,000
NASCAR Chase has been best blend of entertainment and integrity
Liam Lawson: “I don’t understand” why Arvid Lindblad escaped penalty after wrecking my floor
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments