Sam Bird: « Working with Schumacher and Rosberg is good for me »

Of all the drivers on duty Tuesday during the Young Drivers Test in Magny-Cours, Sam Bird, the third Mercedes driver, will undoubtedly have been the one with the most work. Indeed, in Nièvre, the F1 W03 traditionally assigned to Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg was equipped with a brand new exhaust configuration, known as the Coanda effect, as seen on McLaren and Sauber. Sam Bird also had to work on the new Double-DRS configuration, inspired by Lotus, which had already been tested by the experienced regular drivers.

This Tuesday, the British driver completed 95 laps at the end of a test day where he did not encounter the slightest problem, ultimately securing the third – and last – fastest time of the session: “Everything worked as it was supposed to,” the Briton tells our correspondent. “In terms of performance, I can’t judge, but we collected a lot of data today and the engineers are satisfied with how the tests went. We completed everything necessary and tomorrow we will look for a bit more performance. I think we did six stints of 10 laps. The rear tires overheat, but we can manage that and make the stint last.”

The F1 W03, however, entered the pits briefly several times for the mechanics to examine the rear wing and the new Double-DRS configuration. When asked if Mercedes had encountered any issues with this part, Bird reassures: « No, no, everything was planned. It happened a few times, but nothing went wrong today, and we are very pleased about it. »

But even though he had a productive day, Sam Bird still regrets the lack of testing granted to young drivers: « It’s the first time I’m getting into this car. It’s difficult to do tests these days, I wish there were more, really. You know, we come here, we expect to have good testing and I feel that today was exceptional, I felt very good in the car as soon as I got in and we were able to start testing immediately. But it would be an advantage for young drivers if they did more testing. »

Fortunately, as the third driver for Mercedes, Sam Bird is fully integrated into the German team and can rely on the experience of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg: « I attend all the Grand Prix as a reserve driver, I get along extremely well with Michael and Nico. We have a very friendly relationship, they help me a lot, they assist me in progressing as a driver and understanding what is expected of me as a test driver in Formula One. Working with both of them is really good for me. »

But the Magny-Cours tests were also an opportunity for Sam Bird to cross paths with Jules Bianchi again, after both men dominated the last World Series by Renault meeting held at Silverstone, and as they will surely compete for the title alongside Robin Frijns in the coming weeks: « You know, when you’re on a track like this, I can only wish that we both have the opportunity to race in these cars and compete. We’ve had some great battles over the last three years, in the different categories where we’ve encountered each other. It’s always been very close between us, and he’s also a very good friend, so I hope we’ve both shown enough talent recently to deserve to compete in Formula One, one day, as soon as possible. It’s just nice and fun to be on track with him. »

However, the Briton admits that, for 2013, it’s still too early to know if a future in Formula One will unfold for him: « We are talking to people, so we’ll see, but it’s too early to know. »

In the meantime, Sam Bird will take the wheel of the F1 W03 today and could hand it over to Brendon Hartley on Thursday, provided he has completed the entire program planned by Mercedes.

From our correspondent in Magny-Cours.