“I wouldn’t say no to another test with McLaren”: Mick Schumacher drives Daniel Ricciardo’s Monza-winning car in Portugal

Mick Schumacher had the opportunity to run the McLaren MCL35M at Portimao for a private test held by the team. This is the same car in which Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 2021. He was delighted to get to know the team and the car better.

This is the first time in a long time that he has been driving a Formula 1 car since the last time he did so was during the Pirelli tire test in Barcelona in the Mercedes. He mentioned that he was happy and would be looking forward to more tests with the team in the future.

McLaren quoted him:

"I did the Pirelli test with Mercedes in Barcelona, so it is not like I was coming into this test super, super fresh. It is good for me to get as much driving in as possible, and that is why this day is an amazing opportunity for me."

He added:

"I wouldn’t say no to another test with McLaren."

Mick Schumacher has had a short career (until now) as a permanent driver on the Formula 1 grid. He was with Haas for two seasons and scored 12 points in the 2022 season with the team when their car became fairly competitive.

However, his contract was not extended with the team, and since he had left the Ferrari Driver Academy earlier, he hopped into Mercedes as their reserve driver. He has been eminent in the team's work as their reserve, making his presence felt in every race.

Recently, he worked late at night in the Mercedes simulator prior to the British Grand Prix, sorting out strategies for the team. Lewis Hamilton gained four places in the race to step on the podium at P3.

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McLaren focused on improving Mick Schumacher's 'skills,' he reveals

F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Practice

The most important aspect for Mick Schumacher in the current scenario would be to prepare himself for better competitiveness to share a fair competition on the grid once he gets himself a seat.

He revealed that the test he had with McLaren focused on his learning and improvement of skills.

He said:

"We ran through some different projects, it was mainly about driving style and getting to understand the tyre. The tyre we used is an academy tyre, so it is a little different, but it is a great one to learn on and improve my skills, and that is what we were really focused on."

Tests like this would prepare Mick Schumacher for better opportunities on the grid. As it was recently seen, Daniel Ricciardo got the opportunity to drive for AlphaTauri, and he was the reserve driver for Red Bull. In similar ways, Schumacher could get an opportunity.