Mick Schumacher working till 2 am at night helped Mercedes “get the best preparation of the car” in the British F1 GP

Mercedes revealed that Mick Schumacher's late-night work with the team before the British Grand Prix was one of the most important factors behind their success at Silverstone. The team's good performance was achieved despite them starting relatively back on the grid.

James Allison, one of the engineers in the team, revealed that the W14 did not have much pace during a hot lap. This had become quite apparent after the qualifying session.

Because of the Parc Ferme regulations, they couldn't change the fundamental setup. The team then focused on getting the most out of the car, and hence, Schumacher worked late at night to sort things out. Planet F1 quoted Allison as saying:

"So our challenge overnight was how to find pace in a car for qualifying, without actually really sort of mucking about with the fundamental setup of the car."

Mick Schumacher had posted a story late at night, showing him outside the Mercedes simulator. It was obvious that the team had worked late at night with their reserve driver to sort out the best possible way to make the most out of the car's performance.

Hamilton was able to get them from P7 to P3 because of the right strategy and the lucky safety car.

"And that’s what they set to do on Friday night in our simulator. The engineers and Mick Schumacher working late into the night until 2am trying to figure out how to get the best preparation of the car to be in good shape for a qualifying lap, for that single-push lap without changing the fundamental setup."

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Mick Schumacher tests the McLaren MCL35M at Portimao

Mick Schumacher

Schumacher had the opportunity to drive McLaren's 2021 challenger, the MCL35M during a private test at Portimao earlier this week. This is the same car in which the team achieved their latest win, during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Monza with Daniel Ricciardo. It was a remarkable 1-2 finish as Lando Norris followed his teammate at P2 in the race.

Mick Schumacher was quite delighted with the test with McLaren. This is not long since he last drove an F1 car, so he mentioned that he had a feeling for the car. McLaren quoted him as saying:

"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 also mentioned that he would appreciate having another test with the team if he gets the chance.

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