Michael Schumacher waiting for next season
How would Michael Schumacher assess his return to Formula One so far?
It would be something along the lines of “not as I had hoped” as he has struggled to find form in a Mercedes car that is clearly not up to the task this season.
Formed from the championship-winning team Brawn GP, the Silver Arrows have failed to live up to last year’s incredible achievements as drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Mercedes have stopped developments on this year’s car to focus on 2011 as a result of their poor showings this year.
Schumacher’s best finishes have been fourth place in Turkey and Spain, while teammate Nico Rosberg has fared better, collecting more points than Schumacher and taking podiums in Malaysia, China and Great Britain.
The seven-time world champion insists the team will bounce back next year.
“The fact is that I feel comfortable in the situation and I believe that we are moving in the right direction to ensure that next year we will be real contenders,” Schumacher said.
“The teamwork, with the engineers and with Nico Rosberg is going very well. The car we currently have is almost a 'survivor' from last year, which had already been shaped, moulded and developed for us and we, as drivers, have had to make compromises accordingly.”
Schumacher’s struggles have been a combination of the lack of performance from the car and being three years out of Formula One. He still hasn’t lost his controversial moves, as Rubens Barrichello found out at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Schumacher almost forced him into the wall at 200mph.
The German however believes next year’s car will be better than this year’s.
“The fact is that the car is not functioning in harmony, neither with the tyres nor with the drivers and obviously we must invest all the time we have in ensuring this is not the case next year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mercedes reserve and test driver Nick Heidfeld has been released by the team. The 33-year-old revealed a few months ago he was considering leaving and searching for a race seat for 2011. Also, Pirelli, the new tyre supplier to Formula One as of next season, confirmed Heidfeld would be the driver to test their tyres at Mugello, Italy.
Heidfeld said: “First of all I would like to thank Ross Brawn [team principal], Norbert Haug [vice-president of Mercedes-Benz] and Nick Fry [chief executive officer] for allowing me the opportunity to become Pirelli's official test driver.
“The team has always said that they would not stand in my way if such a chance arose and they have kindly allowed me to take up this exciting new role. I would like to thank everyone at Mercedes GP Petronas for the great co-operation that we have had this year. I have greatly enjoyed supporting the team in my position as reserve driver and have felt welcome right from the outset.
“It was impressive to have the opportunity to work with the current world champions and I wish the team all the best for the remainder of the season and beyond,” he said.
Brawn said in a statement: “Nick has been a real asset to Mercedes GP Petronas since joining our team this year and we are pleased to see his career progressing.”
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