Norbert Haug: Mercedes W02 not good enough for the top ten in Formula 1
Norbert Haug, the President in charge of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities surprised everyone as he told the reporters earlier today that the new Mercedes GP 2011 car, W02, is not as competitive as the team expected it to be.
The Mercedes driver and seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher also told the press earlier this week that the team might not be a strong contender for the title. He insisted that the German marquee will try to claim as many podiums as it can
and will fight for some race wins also, but the title battle seems tough for it with the current team car.
The 42-year-old was quoted by the press, "Our goal is the same as it was a few weeks ago. With this car we want to be on the podium and, if things go well, maybe win a race."
However, the racing icon, Schumacher stamped the fastest lap of the day at Valencia earlier this month while the other team driver, Nico Rosberg stood at the sharp end of the time-sheet at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Despite the two encouraging days, Haug admits that the W02 does not meet the standards the Brackley based team set for itself for this season.
While asked about the pace and reliability of the car, he believes that if a race were to be held immediately, the team would not be able to end in the top ten.
Furthermore, the German explained, "We know that at the moment our car is not good enough for the top ten, but we had been hampered by having to cut holes because of temperature problems, and also Nico had been without KERS. Our plan is that with our
new aerodynamics package we close much of the gap and have the car good enough for the podium."
A recent calculation of the speed of different cars on the grid revealed that the W02 is about 1.5 seconds per lap slower than the double title winner of last season, the Red Bull Racing.
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