Schumacher and Ilott cap off 'undoubtedly positive' Ferrari test at Fiorano with 50 laps each on Friday

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FDA TEST FIORANO - VENERDì 29/01/21
credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press

Mick Schumacher completed 50 more laps of Ferrari's Fiorano test track on Friday morning, as the 2021 Haas driver finished his latest stint at the wheel of the 2018 Ferrari SF71H. The German then handed the cockpit over to Ferrari's 2021 test driver Callum Ilott, who capped off the bumper five-day, seven driver test.

After the likes of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc tested the 2018 Ferrari earlier this week, Schumacher - a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy - took the wheel on Thursday and completed more than 50 laps over the day. The 21-year-old then returned on Friday morning to put in another haul of around 50 laps.

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"How nice to get back in the car," said Schumacher. "I finally returned to experience the good sensations that only driving a Formula 1 can give you. I would say that today was undoubtedly positive.

"We were able to carry out the whole programme we had prepared without any kind of problem and it was obviously very useful to be able to cover kilometres behind the wheel of a car in view of the season that will start in about a month and a half, with the pre-season tests," he added.

The man Schumacher beat to the 2020 F2 title, Ilott, also got around 50 laps under his belt on Friday afternoon. For the British driver, it was his second time driving an F1 Ferrari having also tested at Fiorano in 2020 alongside Schumacher and Robert Shwartzman.

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"The most important aspect of the test was to give the Scuderia official race drivers, Charles and Carlos, the opportunity to get back into the swing of driving again after the winter break," said Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies.

"For the FDA guys it was another opportunity to experience driving a Formula 1 car. For Carlos and Marcus [Armstrong] the test was also a 'first', as the Spaniard’s was making his debut with his new team and the New Zealander was experiencing a Formula 1 car for the first time.

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Sainz tested the 2018 Ferrari on day three of the test (Wednesday)

"I think the best thing about the week was the atmosphere in the garage at our home track, with all the guys really happy to be back on track, to prepare as well as possible for the upcoming season," added Mekies.

Schumacher has had a valuable amount of experience in Scuderia machinery before his upcoming F1 racing debut with Haas; the young German tested the SF90 in 2019, then demonstrated the F2004 in that year's German Grand Prix.

Last year, Schumacher also tested at Mugello ahead of Ferrari's 1,000th Grand Prix before making his practice debut with Haas in Abu Dhabi.

This five-day Ferrari test comprised 500 laps and 1,500 kilometres, according to Ferrari, with FDA members Robert Shwartzman, Marcus Armstrong and the outgoing FDA driver Giuliano Alesi also testing the 2018-spec Ferrari.

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