Schumacher: Interesting but short
Although Michael Schumacher managed just 15 laps at Valencia, the German was upbeat in the wake of his maiden voyage in Merc's new W02.
Schumacher took the Spanish track late on Tuesday's afternoon, his running cut short after team-mate Nico Rosberg suffered a hydraulic problem earlier in the morning.
But despite having just an hour in the car, Schumacher managed 15 laps with a best time of 1:16.450, 2.681s behind pace-setter Sebastian Vettel.
"It has always been and is still very special to go out in a new car for the first time, and I very much enjoyed today even if it was just a few laps that we could do," said the seven-time World Champion.
"Maybe you could sum it up with: interesting but short!
"It was mainly about doing a few system checks and I am looking forward to the laps to come.
"All in all, I am very happy after today's launch of our new baby, and I can't wait for the season to start."
Team boss Ross Brawn was also delighted to see his new car out on track, revealing that for this week's test the team will focus on reliability - which has already proved to be an issue.
"It felt good to see the MGP W02 finally take to the track after so much hard work from everyone at the factory to prepare the car for this first test.
"Michael and Nico felt comfortable and had a good feeling from the car, although we were limited in the mileage that we achieved.
"We had a hydraulic problem early on which limited Nico's running but were able to change the system to get Michael out for a few laps at the end.
"The first tests are about focusing on reliability, which admittedly was not great, and getting the KERS system functioning well.
"Performance testing will develop over the next month as we get more running under our belts."
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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