Toto Wolff heaped praise upon Mick Schumacher for his performance in his first taste of a Mercedes Formula 1 car.
Schumacher is a Mercedes reserve this season, having been axed by Haas at the end of last year. It means he plays a key role in the development of the W14 with his work in the simulator.
But it had been months since he last sat in a real F1 car. That changed days after the Spanish Grand Prix, when the German filled in for Lewis Hamilton at a Pirelli tyre test at the Barcelona track.
Schumacher played an important role in helping the tyremaker to gather important data for the future. It also gave him vital experience behind the wheel of the W14 which will come in handy if needed to fill in on a race weekend this season.
His performance in the test caught the eye of team boss Wolff, who only had kind things to say about the 24-year-old. "Following the Grand Prix in Spain, Mick got his first opportunity to drive the W14," said the Austrian.
"He settled in well during the Pirelli tyre test and enjoyed the experience. Mick has become a valuable member of the team already and his work in the simulator has proved useful in finding lap time, as we saw in Barcelona."
Schumacher's work in the simulator has also contributed to the team's car upgrades. As a result of the changes, Mercedes secured their best result of the season in Spain with a double podium, beaten only by race-winner Max Verstappen.
"The result in Spain was a well-deserved reward for everyone's efforts at Brackley and Brixworth to bring our update package to the track," said Wolff. "We were pleased with how it performed, and it will provide a new baseline for us to build from.
"But we must also manage our expectations. It was a circuit that suited our car, and we should expect our direct competitors to be stronger in the next races. The gap to Red Bull is large and it will take lots of hard work to close that down. Nevertheless, we're up for the challenge.
"We now move on to Montreal. With its long straights and low-speed corners, it's not a track that we expect to suit our car as well as Barcelona did. No matter where the true pace of the car is this weekend, we will aim to maximise our result. The characteristics of the circuit will also provide further opportunity to learn about the W14 and feed into our development path."
