Formula One: Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher asks for calm in the team ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix
The seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has asked his team to stay calm and take time to work on the problems that are hampering the team’s progress.
Mercedes had a horrible weekend on their home race at Hockenheim. The team only managed to pick up 6 points in the race, which was the worst performance by the team in the entire season.
There are well documented problems between drivers at Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. Things in Mercedes, though, are not that rosy either. There has been the sense of some animosity between Schumacher and Rosberg, but unlike other teams, whatever hostility there is, is still under the carpet. The two drivers did have a good day out on Friday and showed good pace on practice in both sessions. However, the duo could not put on the same show on qualifying day and left many wondering what went wrong.
The former Ferrari driver Schumacher has not been able to get in the top 10 in 3 of the last 4 races. The points tally understandably has also been very disappointing. He has only been able to attain 4 points from the last 4 races.
His teammate Nico Rosberg started the race on 9th spot; he had an average race and finished 8th in the end. After a decent start to the season, Nico Rosberg has drifted 63 points away from the top of the driver standings.
Michael Schumacher, who was understandably disappointed by the recent performances, said that what happened in Germany was simply unacceptable.
Michael, who is an absolute legend of the sport, said that during his time in F1, he has seen much more testing times, and a few slip ups like these can never dampen his spirits. He added that the team needs to sit down and work on the problems that have been hampering the team, and they need to go into the Hungarian Grand Prix with a positive mindset.
He said that the team needs to see what is wrong with the car and do rigorous testing; only then would they be able to pinpoint the problems. Schumacher added that the track at Budapest is not a very easy one, and the crew would have to come up with a strategy accordingly. He said that the track needs to be analysed and understood by one and all, and only then can they concentrate on the race.
Michael said that other teams like Ferrari have made great use of the upgrades in the middle of the season, while his team fell short in that aspect. He added that the engineers need to compare the performances of previous races and see what needs to be done in the new upgrades to improve the efficiency of the car.
Michael said that panic is never the answer, and everything should be taken one step at a time. The former world champion said that when he was new in the sport, everything looked alien to him in the beginning, but he never panicked and realised that if he gave time to every single detail, it will all be easy for him. Schumacher said that he believes strongly in Ross Brawn, the team principal of Mercedes, and knows that Ross will come up with a solution to the team’s problems. Michael said that he had a great working relationship with Ross Brawn at Ferrari, and that is the reason they were able to win multiple world titles. He said that it did not happen overnight, and a lot of hard work had gone into the long term planning, and that is precisely what is needed here. The German driver said that he accepts that the dream of winning the world title may be a bridge too far at this point in the season, but a strong finish in 2010 can lead to a good start in 2011.
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