Schumacher: “I was pessimistic”

Michael Schumacher, who had shown his disappointment on Friday regarding his times on the Barcelona circuit, returned to his statements. It is difficult to disentangle what is frankness or communication in the words of the seven-time world champion, who has revised his hopes upwards.

On Friday, Michael Schumacher expressed his doubts about his ability to win a race at the start of the season. Schumi even confided that the level of the W01 was not what he expected. “ I can't make too many judgments on the other teams but we're not exactly in the position we'd like to be in, to be able to win straight away. This is nothing new: from the start I have been saying that we should not be in a position to win the first races “, declared the former pilot Ferrari.

For a stable such as Mercedes, the comments are unfortunate, especially when the stated ambition is to win the world title and the W01 succeeds a world champion car. Therefore, Michael Schumacher returned to his comments this Saturday. “ I was a little pessimistic yesterday, before looking at the data. I spoke directly, confided my first feeling. After studying the data, I realized that it was better than I thought. »

« It was a hot feeling but, a priori, we were driving with more fuel than the others yesterday, continues the German pilot. This is why the times did not seem good to me. Looking more closely, analyzing the data, it’s not so bad after all. »

This Sunday, Michael Schumacher will have one last day to complete his pre-season testing