The pair endured a difficult opening day of practice at Barcelona as Mercedes finally got some proper running of its new W14 upgrade package.
The struggles even left Hamilton feeling that he would not make it through to Q3 in qualifying because the car was so difficult to drive.
But a late-night simulator session for Schumacher back at Mercedes’ Brackley factory on Friday helped unlock the answer that the squad needed for its set-up and ultimately set the course for its first double podium finish of the season.
Speaking after the race, runner-up Hamilton said that Schumacher had to take the credit for delivering the step forward Mercedes needed after the first day of practice.
“Friday was a real struggle with the balance, it was way out of the window,” explained Hamilton. “It was very hard to drive, very unpredictable. And then we did some great work overnight.
“We’ve got a great team, with Mick back in the simulator on Friday night, and he did some great work, which helped us get on the right track on Saturday.”
Russell, who charged from 12th on the grid to finish third, said that from Saturday onwards, the Mercedes had felt the best it had ever been around Barcelona, even though he had some struggles with the handling in qualifying.
Source: Autosport