1997 September 12 - Michael Schumacher test Sauber C16 @ Fiorano

A short clip is better than none. (From La Republica September 13, 1997: ) SCHUMI - SAUBER, IMMEDIATELY LOVE FIORANO Michael Schumacher got out of the Sauber last night at 8pm after an intense day of testing at Fiorano in the Swiss car equipped with last year’s 10-cylinder Ferrari. When he got out, he was so radiant and satisfied that he immediately uttered a joke that at first glance seemed heavy-handed: “We give Sauber the engine,“ said Michael, “and Sauber will give us the chassis“. It was a joke and as soon as he realised that his press officer Heiner Buchinger was already talking to journalists on the phone, he hastened to say: “Look, I was just saying that, just for a laugh“. Evidently, however, the very hot day must have provided positive and useful indications. Not only for Schumacher, who had the opportunity to try out a different car, but also for Sauber who, having a contract with Ferrari, wanted to be able to make comparisons on the track where the Ferrari are usually tested. In short, Schumacher tried a Sauber but Sauber tried Schumacher. The official best time at the end of 84 laps was , slightly slower than the track record of 59 seconds flat. “It was,“ said Schumacher, “an experience that was perhaps more unique than rare, as it never happens for a driver to be able to test a car other than the one he races in during the championship. But it was also a good day for us and for them with a reciprocal exchange of experience and knowledge“. In addition to engineer Lunetta, who is responsible for Schumacher’s Ferrari, there were also Sauber engineers at the Fiorano pits, who talked at length with their colleagues from Maranello throughout the day. So far the official things of the day. Schumacher probably didn’t want to force himself in an attempt to set a new track record so as not to embarrass anyone, and was content to go a little slower than Johnny Herbert, the official Sauber driver, who had stopped the clock at Fiorano the day before at . But it is clear that driving so many kilometres in the Swiss car allowed Schumacher to capture precise impressions in his mind about the car’s behaviour, and the experience, so far unique in F1, will allow him to gain useful insights into the set-up and balance of that car. An experience, in other words, that will not serve to copy but to open the mind to solutions that the F 310 B has never had since before it was born. Clip from Grand Prix episode of September 14, 1997.