Haug says Mercedes will not blame Pirelli if team doesn’t do well
Mercedes GP’s team boss Norbert Haug says that his team will not blame the Pirelli tyres if the car is not able to perform well in the 2011 season.
Last year was a huge struggle for Mercedes in Formula One, and the German manufacturers failed to win even a single race. The team claimed that the problem was the tyres, which didn’t provide the car the required grip to win races. However, the tyres will
be changed to Pirelli from Bridgestone for the upcoming season, and Mercedes is expected to do well in 2011 compared to their lacklustre season in 2010.
Haug said that it would be harsh to blame Bridgestone or Pirelli for the team’s poor performance. He further stated that it all depends on the setup of the car and if that has not been configured properly, then the team should take the blame on themselves.
Last year didn’t prove to be as good for Mercedes as the team expected. The driver who struggled more in the team was the returning Michael Schumacher. The seven-time Formula One champion only managed to fight for a few points in most of the races and wasn’t
able to challenge the front-runners.
Schumacher even struggled to match his team-mate Nico Rosberg and the young German finished with almost double the number of points scored by the legendary driver. However, there are a lot of expectations from Schumacher this year. He is the only driver
amongst the current lot, who has driven a Formula One car on Pirelli tyres.
On the other hand, the team is also expecting a much improved season from Rosberg, who did a great job last year. Haug stated that it would be too early to make any predictions for the 2011 season. Mercedes was pleased with the initial tests at Valencia
but the team didn’t put in quicker laps, compared to the others.
The lap times didn’t bother Schumacher too much and the legendary driver said that the team had achieved what they were looking for. Schumacher was confident of the team’s chances in the 2011 season and vowed to win races.
Jerez will host the next pre-season testing in Formula One. The teams are still developing their cars and many teams launched their cars after the first pre-season test at Valencia. Most teams have claimed that the lap times in the first two pres-season
tests will not be a clear indication of where the teams stand. However, the picture will be clearer after the last pre-season test at Barcelona.
The first race of 2011 season will kick-off at Bahrain in March and Mercedes will be looking forward to stamp its authority from the very start. Last season also started in Bahrain and Mercedes ended-up with fifth and sixth places for Rosberg and Schumacher.
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