Norbert Haug admits Mercedes performance not satisfactory in ongoing season – Formula 1 news
Mercedes GP motorsport president Norbert Haug has admitted that his team’s performance in the ongoing 2011 Formula 1 season is still unsatisfactory.
Both Mercedes drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg have been unable to manage podium finishes in the four races of the season so far.
He also mentioned that they will need an improved performance if they were looking forward to winning the 2011 championship.
Nico Rosberg, who finished fifth in both Chinese and Turkish Grand Prix, has 20 points to his name so far in the season. The Petronas-sponsored team was impressed with Rosberg’s performance, but they were also unhappy with Schumacher’s disappointing run.
Despite starting amongst the top ten in the Turkish GP, Schumacher faced a collision with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov in the first lap of the race and thus ruined his chances of a podium finish.
Haug said, “We are working on further improvements, and I think we are heading in the right direction. The third and fourth races saw the team start twice from the second row on the grid and score two fifth-place finishes, [so] we will build on that.”
He went on to add, “We have quite a few things in the pipeline, but Ross Brawn will hit me if I tell, so [there's] no chance that I can be specific. We have to, and we will, improve further, but this takes time for a team that was completely re-structured
one-and-a-half years ago.”
The Mercedes motorsport president insisted that the team drivers are still failing to live up to the team’s expectations. However, he admitted that they fared well in last two races in China and Turkey.
Haug believes that his team still has the ability to score decent points in the remainder of the season, as both the drivers have the experience in all aspects of the game.
Along with almost all F1 teams, Mercedes are bringing upgrades to each race. However, Haug is confident that under the team boss’ direction, his squad can start challenging races better.
After the Turkish GP, there were rumours circulating that the 42-year-old driver’s time in Formula 1 is nearing an end, but Haug denied these rumours and said Schumacher is still capable enough to do his best on the grid.
The team believes that the German will definitely succeed again in this season, as he still has the speed, talent and willpower to do best in his races.
The Spanish Grand Prix practice session will take place on May 20, 2011 in Barcelona whereas the race will take place two days later on Sunday.
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