Norbert Haug says the new Mercedes will not be pulling off any surprises – Formula 1 news
Norbert Haug has warned that the new Mercedes will not be featuring any ground breaking innovations.
Mercedes did not feature in the first pre-season test at Jerez citing development on the car as the reason to delay its unveiling. Red Bull technical director Adrian Newey sparked some speculation by stating that he thinks Mercedes decision to skip the first
test has more to do with strategy than anything else.
Newey believed that Mercedes has come up with an innovation that the team does not want to unveil with enough time for other teams to copy it. Haug has rubbished those speculations by saying that although the car has some good ideas incorporated in the car
added with some clever solutions but it is nothing to be surprised about.
“I don't think that your eye will be caught by any big surprises when you see the car during the unveiling,” Haug told AUTOSPORT. “But I certainly hope that we have some clever solutions and we have some good ideas incorporated on the car.”
He added further that the car is built on a strong base and the management has put hard work in to come up with a total package which will be a good run in the long-term. The team has not looked to go after risky innovations rather the criteria that will
hold with time and prove to be more consistent.
Haug said that the team realises it has not had a good run in the previous season and that is something Mercedes are looking to put behind. The team has learned a lot from its previous two seasons and it seems that everything is coming together now.
“To be a regular contender with Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren is quite a task. We need to learn, we need to develop our team in that direction and I'm sure that we can do that,” he added.
Mercedes will unveil their new car W03 on February 21, 2012 at Barcelona during the second pre-season test. It will provide a clearer picture of where Mercedes stands against the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and the impressive looking Lotus.
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