Mercedes are set to shake up their race weekend plans as the Formula 1 circus rolls into Europe with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Silver Arrows have been rather stagnant compared to last year which has seen Aston Martin surge ahead of them in the constructors' standings.
Toto Wolff is looking to extract every last thousandth of a second to try and overcome their customer team and that will include a new role for Mick Schumacher.
The German, who lost his race seat at Haas at the end of 2022, is currently a reserve driver for Mercedes and has been on hand at the track at every race this season to cover for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Mick Schumacher is often seen on Toto Wolff's shoulder during a race
Factory work
The long-haul start to the season in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia made travel from the factory to the track impossible in good time.
But F1 returns to a European theme in Azerbaijan and will stay there for the majority of the spring barring a brief stop in Miami.
As a result, Schumacher will be staying at the team's Brackley facility and doing simulator work on a Friday before jetting out overnight to join the team as a reserve on Saturdays.
With limited practice in Azerbaijan due to the sprint race, Schumacher's role become vital to allow Mercedes to test multiple setups and programmes.
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
GP JAPAN
5 - 7 Apr
GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
GP USA
3 - 5 May
GP ITALY
17 - 19 May
GP MONACO
24 - 26 May
GP CANADA
7 - 9 Jun
GP SPAIN
21 - 23 Jun
GP AUSTRIA
28 - 30 Jun
GP GREAT BRITAIN
5 - 7 Jul
GP HUNGARY
19 - 21 Jul
GP BELGIUM
26 - 28 Jul
GP NETHERLANDS
23 - 25 Aug
GP AZERBAIJAN
13 - 15 Sep
GP SINGAPORE
20 - 22 Sep
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