Tales from the paddock - David Schumacher: "For the rest of the season, I've set myself the target of consistently finishing in the Top Ten"

Now on their summer break, the Mercedes-AMG F1 engineers take a look back at the season so far. Meanwhile, Mercedes-AMG Junior #davidschumacher is looking ahead to the rest of the campaign.

• Mid-term review with Mike, James and Hywel
• What happens to an F1 car after the season finishes?
• The season so far for our Junior Drivers
• Three questions for #davidschumacher, Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver
• GT World Challenge: Two podium finishes for Mercedes-AMG at Queensland Raceway extend lead in the overall Constructors' Standings
• News snippets: Results and Facts & Social Media News

 
Mid-term review with Mike, James and Hywel
For the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, the season so far has been all about improving the W14 after the disappointing start in Bahrain. The Team has been working hard to turn learnings into development and developments into steps forward in performance, bringing regular updates throughout the season, which led to them going into the summer break in second place in the Constructors' World Championship after 12 of 22 races.
 
Mike Elliott, our Chief Technical Officer, and James Allison, the Team's Technical Director, look back on the year so far: mb4.me/m9Chw5pJ
 
The summer shutdown isn't just for the #racing teams. It's also for the power unit manufacturers, and work has temporarily stopped at Brixworth so team members there can enjoy a hard-earned break. It's been an impressive season for our colleagues at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, with the four Mercedes-AMG powered teams all displaying strong performance and reliability.
 
Hywel Thomas, Managing Director of Mercedes-AMG HPP, tells us how the season has gone so far at Brixworth: mb4.me/YJvb0EVJ
 
What happens to an F1 car after the season finishes?
During the season, all eyes are on the #racing cars. But what happens to them when the last chequered flag has fallen at the end of the year? A visit to our Heritage department is like a time capsule for F1 history. As soon as you walk through the doors, you are greeted by the sight of iconic #racing cars that have made their mark on the sport. The memorable cars of past and present Mercedes drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and #georgerussell, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas stand side by side. More than 1,000,000 car parts are kept here, alongside a host of memorabilia such as trophies, #racing suits, helmets and much more besides.
 
More information: mb4.me/LFIBR8KW
 
The season so far for our Junior Drivers
The first half of the year has been a busy time for the drivers recruited to the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Junior programme, with plenty of #racing action and some strong results. Most of our Juniors are enjoying a break right now to relax and recharge their batteries. This is the perfect time to take a look at their season so far and show what they've been up to.
 
Three of them are active in Formula #racing: Frederik Vesti in Formula 2, Paul Aron in Formula 3 and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA). Other members of the squad are karting talents Alex Powell and Yuanpu Cui, who compete in the OK category, Luna Fluxá in the OK Junior class and Kenzo Craigie, our youngest Junior, who competes in various karting championships in the UK and Europe.
 
Here's how our Juniors have fared so far this season: mb4.me/RgsNG2He
 
Three questions for #davidschumacher, Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver
In 2022, after a number of years in various formula #racing classes, #davidschumacher (GER) made the step up into GT #racing as an official Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver in 2022. The rookie year is now over, and the 21-year-old has been celebrating some early successes in his second season. These included a class victory in the Gold Cup at the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, followed a week later by his first Top Ten finish in the DTM - both at the Nürburgring. The Austrian by choice, who lives in Salzburg with his girlfriend, Hungarian racer Vivien Keszthelyi, competes in both series for Team WINWARD #racing. We talked to David about his upwards trajectory and ambitions for the future.
 
David, after an intense and instructive first season, you look to have settled in well. The evidence for this is your recent successes in the GT World Challenge Europe and the DTM. Do you also see yourself making positive progress, and what targets have you set yourself for the 2023 #racing season?
David Schumacher: I'm still on an upwards trajectory, which is what you would expect. One of the reasons for this is that I'm getting more and more used to the car and the team. Also, the relationship with Mercedes-AMG and WINWARD #racing is now working really well. It is only to be expected that, after spending some years in Formula #racing, you need a certain amount of time to get used to a GT3 car. The differences are actually quite big. Consequently, there is still room for improvement. But sooner or later, I would like to be up there among the front-runners. I've already managed to do that in the GT World Challenge at the Nürburgring, and I was very satisfied with sixth place overall and a class victory. In the DTM race a week later, I put in another great performance, qualifying third for the grid as the best of the Mercedes-AMG contingent. Unfortunately, we made a few poor decisions in the race, otherwise we might have had a better result there as well. For the rest of the season, I've set myself the target of consistently finishing in the Top Ten, doing well in qualifying and getting on level pegging with my team-mate Lucas Auer.
 
In the DTM, each of the three Mercedes-AMG teams is made up of one Performance driver and one Junior driver. You drive for Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD. Your team-mate is Lucas Auer, who competed in his 130th DTM race at the Nürburgring. In what ways do you benefit from his experience?
David Schumacher: In Lucas, I have a great team-mate at my side; he's currently one of, if not the best, Mercedes-AMG drivers in the DTM. We both benefit from the data collected by the other, because the two crews work closely together. He's faster in some corners, and I'm faster in others. But his experience from 130 DTM races alone helps me enormously. So it's a tremendous boon for me to be lining up alongside him.
 
You've been a Junior driver since 2022. To what extent has the support from Mercedes-AMG helped you to get established in GT3?
David Schumacher: The support I receive from Mercedes-AMG comes in many different forms, and it helps me a lot. It's been like that right from the start. The fact that the brand operates according to the one-team principle gives me the opportunity to compare myself with top drivers like Lucas Auer, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz. These drivers have years of experience in GT and know the Mercedes-AMG GT3 inside out. As a Junior driver, I also have access to all the data relevant to me, and I always find receptive listeners when I ask the other drivers or Mercedes-AMG for advice.
 

 
Podium finishes for Mercedes-AMG in the GT World Challenge Australia consolidate top spot in the overall constructors' standings
 
GT World Challenge Australia: Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim (MAS) and Jamie Whincup (AUS) contributed two podium finishes on the penultimate race weekend of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Queensland Raceway near Brisbane. First, the Triple Eight JMR duo secured third place in Saturday's race. On Sunday, their number 88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 qualified for pole position and led the ensuing race for much of the distance. On Lap 41, however, the car was spun off the track by an opponent. After a remarkable recovery, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Jamie Whincup reclaimed third place to secure a fourth podium finish in the tenth race of the season. In total, the Triple Eight JMR team goes into the season finale with no fewer than seven podium finishes to their account. The GT World Challenge Australia finale will take place at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit on the weekend of 23 - 26 November.
 
GT World Challenge Asia: The Okayama International Circuit will host the penultimate race of the GT World Challenge Asia next weekend. Three Mercedes-AMG drivers go into the two remaining one-hour races monopolising the podium positions in the drivers' standings - Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim of Malaysia (P1), Germany's Luca Stolz (P2) and China's Anthony Liu Xu (P3). Overall leader Prince Ibrahim will, however, have a new team-mate at Triple Eight JMR for the last two race weekends in Okayama and Sepang. As Mercedes-AMG Performance driver Stolz is no longer able to compete in Asia due to scheduling conflicts with the DTM, Mercedes Performance driver Mikaël Grenier (CAN) will support Prince Ibrahim in the title fight from now on. "I am very much looking forward to contesting the last two rounds of the GT World Challenge Asia with Team Triple Eight JMR," says Grenier. "I'm very happy to accept this challenge and will give my best in Okayama and Sepang to bring the team's great season so far to a successful conclusion."
 
Mercedes-AMG currently leads the overall manufacturers' standings in the GT World Challenge by more than 300 points.
 

 
 
News snippets: Results and Facts & Social Media News
 
GT4 Australia: Team Daimler Trucks Brisbane made it onto the podium in all three rounds of the third GT4 Australia race weekend. In Friday's one-hour race at Queensland Raceway, Mark Griffith and Nash Morris (both AUS) sharing the cockpit of the #19 Mercedes-AMG GT4 finished third. The duo then posted the same result in the two-hour race on Saturday. In the 60-minute Sunday race, the two Australians secured overall victory, storming through from fourth on the grid.
 
ADAC GT4 Germany: Marcel Lenerz, who currently shares third place in the ADAC GT4 Germany drivers' standings with Denis Bulatov (both GER), has had to withdraw from the contest for the rest of the season. After a first operation on his diaphragm in spring, Lenerz has to undergo another operation, which is why he is unable to return to the cockpit of the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of BCMC Motorsport powered by EastSide for the time being. His place will be taken by Spain's Marc de Fulgencio, who already has experience of the ADAC GT4 Germany, having competed in 14 races during the 2021 and 2022 seasons; he currently drives for BCMC Motorsport in the GT4 European Series. De Fulgencio will be assisting Denis Bulatov in his title challenge, starting with next weekend's engagement at the DEKRA Lausitzring. "I would like to thank BCMC for this opportunity and for the trust they have placed in me," says de Fulgencio. "I'm looking forward to #racing in GT4 Germany and supporting the team as best I can in the fight for the championship title."
 
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Round Table: The third Mercedes-AMG Customer #racing digital press conference of the season took place on Monday. Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer #racing, spoke to journalists about the first half of the season and the objectives for the remainder: "As a brand, we want to win all the big races, which we managed to do at Bathurst and Daytona. In the Intercontinental GT Challenge and in the GT World Challenge, we are currently doing very well, as indeed in numerous other series. In the DTM, however, it has been a challenging season so far. Nevertheless, I'm feeling quite confident about the next four race events, as the tracks suit us. We hope that the conditions will play into our hands and that we can reduce the gap to the championship leader." DTM drivers Maro Engel and Luca Stolz also contributed to the press conference, emphasising the highly competitive character of the series. "It's almost expected that there will be a new winner in every race," said Mercedes-AMG brand ambassador Maro Engel. "This is good for the DTM, but I would like to see a Mercedes-AMG GT3 win more often."
 
#RaceResults - all the results from the most recent motorsport weekend
 

 
 
#Staytuned: Race events this coming weekend with Mercedes-AMG participation
 

 
#W02: Get in, buckle up and enjoy! Mick Schumacher was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he revved up the engine of the Mercedes MGP W02 driven by his father Michael in the 2011 season. This is what the spectacular #event looked like from inside the cockpit.
Watch video
 
#GeorgeRussell: What is George Russell's favourite word? Are his eyebrows real? In this video, George answers the questions that are most frequently asked on the internet, e.g. How did his #racing career start? What is he most afraid of? And how much does he sweat during a race?
Watch video

 
 
Contacts

Bradley Lord
Chief Communications Officer
blord@mercedesamgf1.com
+44 (0) 7785 682 893

Jochen Übler
Communications, Customer Racing
jochen.uebler@mercedes-benz.com
+49 (0) 7144 302 924 70

 
 
Further information is available from Mercedes-AMG Motorsport at:
group-media.mercedes-benz.com