Monza will be a challenge for Mercedes - Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is not confident with his car about the next race as he thinks that the characteristics of the Monza circuit will not suite the strengths of Mercedes.
Schumacher was not able to outperform his teammate once again at the Belgian Grand Prix as Michael finished in 7th place behind Nico Rosberg. However, it was a good result for the team as both drivers were able to score and Michael is not so confident of a repeat result at Monza.
"The next race in Monza might well be entertaining in a very different way as I expect it to be a real challenge for our team. We have seen already several times this year that circuits with characteristics like those of Monza do not really play in our hands”, said Schumacher. He added that this does not mean that the team will go unprepared and they will try to achieve the best result they can from their current package. The team will have to fight its way through in order to achieve their goal.
Monza has always been a favourite of the 7-time world champion during his time at Ferrari. Michael is excited to return to one of his most successful venues as he has won the Italian Grand Prix five times.
“On a personal level, I am very much looking forward to returning to Monza where I have been supported so warmly over so many years”, he said.
Michael Schumacher began his Formula 1 journey after signing with team Jordan in 1991. Michael was only able to score 4 points with the team in his debut season to earn the 14th place in the driver’s standings. This was the worst result for Michael and after this season, he never finished under 5th place to date. Schumacher joined Benetton the following year for 4 years, won two championships in 1994 and 1995, and scored 19 wins, 38 podiums and 10 pole positions during his time in the team. The German joined Ferrari in 1996 and dominated with the team for the next 10 years. This was the high point of Michael’s career as he scored 5 championships, winning the team their first title in 2000 after 21 years. Michael scored 5 championships in a row from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher was at the top of his game breaking record no one could even imagine. His best performance was in the 2004 season when he scored 13 wins, 15 podium positions and 8 pole positions to score 148 points to secure the drivers’ title for a fifth consecutive time. However, Michael lost the title to Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006 before retiring from the Formula 1 for 3 years. The German scored a total of 91 wins, 154 podium positions, 68 pole positions and 7 drivers’ titles breaking almost every statistic record in the sport. Michael returned to the Formula 1 with high hopes in Ross Brawn’s team Mercedes. The 7 time world champion has not been able to perform at his best as he claims that the car does not suite his driving style. After being constantly out driven by his teammate Nico Rosberg, Michael said that he is trying to focus on the car for next season to secure the best possible results next year. Schumacher is currently in a disappointing 11th place with 44 points and looks forward to the challenging Monza Grand Prix.
Michael’s teammate Nico Rosberg however, is more confident about next week’s race at Monza.
“There is always a special feeling about the Monza weekend and I love racing there. We made a good recovery from a difficult start to the weekend in Spa and it was nice to come away with some points. Monza is a completely different type of track but we will hope for an equally good weekend there”, said Rosberg.
Rosberg is in eighth place in the drivers’ standings behind Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica with 102 points.
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