Ross Brawn says Schumacher can stay with Mercedes GP for 2013 season – Formula 1 news
Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn has said that Michael Schumacher can stay with them for the 2013 Formula 1 season.
Schumacher has a contract with the Petronas-sponsored team until the end of the 2012 year. However, the team boss added that if Schumacher wants to stay with them, they will have to extend the German’s contract for 2013.
Brawn commented, “We thought it was important to have a rather short wheelbase but the reality with the exhaust systems showed that we were not right. So we did not start with the right basis.”
On the other hand, the seven-time world champion’s former boss at Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo stated that he is not sure Schumacher is the right driver for Mercedes GP team.
Di Montezemolo mentioned, “He made the choice to come back, and I don’t think he had a competitive car, but to me it’s a shame that a champion like him is not even on the podium. I would wish to see him close the second phase of his sporting life with a
much greater satisfaction.”
The team driver, Schumacher said in the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season that 2012 would be his last season of his career in Formula 1 and after that, he will work as a brand ambassador of Mercedes.
With regards to the 42-year-old driver’s performance in the ongoing season, he did not take good start to the championship.
Schumacher blamed the unsupportive role of MGP-W02 car for his below par performance in the initial stages of the season.
He seems to be competitive on the grid among their rivals from the last few races of the ongoing season.
In the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he successfully finished the race in decent points for the team. After starting the race from the eighth place on the opening grid, he came at the seventh position after running in his W02 car.
Schumacher is sitting at the eighth place with 76 points in the 2011 drivers’ standings after finishing 18 rounds of the ongoing season so far.
Let’s see how he performs at the last round of the season at Brazil, which will be held on November 27 at Interlagos.
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