Ross Brawn admits Mercedes were off pace in pre-season testing due to technical issues
Mercedes team Principal Ross Brawn has admitted that there were some issues which hampered the progress of the German team during pre-season testing so far. However, he was adamant that his team would be able to address those issues in the right way before
the start of the first race in Australia.
Mercedes GP had a below par season in 2010 as the team wasn’t able to challenge the front-runners. There were a lot of expectations from the team, as they were the defending champions, having won the 2009 title as Brawn GP.
However, there were a lot of changes in the team for the 2010 season, which included the re-branding from Brawn GP to Mercedes GP. The driver line-up was also changed completely and 2009 champion Jenson Button moved to Mclaren.
The biggest change in the team was the surprise return of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher. The veteran German made a comeback in the sport after a gap of three years and vowed to win the title for the eighth time in his illustrious career.
However, 2010 didn't turn out to be an ideal year for Schumacher, as the legendary driver had to cope with a lot of issues throughout the season.
On the other hand, his team-mate Nico Rosberg had a relatively better season, scoring almost double points than Schumacher. Although Rosberg was also not able to challenge the front-runners, he did end up on the podium thrice and drove consistently throughout
the year.
Mercedes and Schumacher in particular came under a lot of criticism after the 2010 season, but the German giants vowed to bounce back with a vengeance in 2011. They were expected to be strong with the Pirelli tyres, which replaced Bridgestone as the sole
supplier this year.
However, the testing sessions didn’t look ideal for Mercedes, as the team lacked pace on longer stints. This indicated that Mercedes would not be able to match Ferrari, Mclaren and Red Bull yet again.
Brawn said, “We are well aware of the pace of our current car, the distance to the current frontrunners and the reasons for this, which include the compromises brought about by our cooling issues.”
Even though Brawn admitted that his team was trailing the top teams, he was confident that there was plenty of time to catch-up. He further stated that the current pace of the Mercedes car was apparently too slow, as the team hasn’t introduced the final
upgrades for the upcoming season.
Both Mercedes drivers and the team have claimed on numerous occasions that their car would be upgraded completely ahead of the first race. Therefore it will be hard to estimate the true potential of the car.
However, a few defensive statements by Schumacher and Brawn have created some doubts over the team’s potential in the 2011 season.
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