Where do Mercedes GP stand after nine rounds of 2011 Formula 1 season?
The ninth event of the Formula 1 2011 season concluded in Silverstone on July 10 and Mercedes GP, despite showing an average performance, moved up a place in the 2011 constructors’ championship table.
Although the final results of the Silverstone Grand Prix are not very impressive for the Mercedes team, still the lap times show that they have not lost too much from the diffuser clampdown by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
Once again, Schumacher struggled in the Qualifiers to make it to the Q3 and finished 13th. Rosberg however was impressive in the Silver Arrow car and ended ninth in qualifiers.
Although it was expected that after the Blown Diffuser ban the top five teams will suffer yet Mercedes along with Ferrari were less affected from the ban.
The Mercedes duo started that race on a positive note and was involved in some good fights on the track. However, the seven-time Formula 1 champion Schumacher crashed into the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi and was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty.
Schumacher made a wrong move on a turn, crashed his front wing, and punctured Kobayashi’s car. As the German dived into the pits for a new front wing, he came out on soft tyres and was the fastest driver on the track as all the front running drivers were
still on the intermediates. It seemed that Schumacher will take an advantage from the soft tyres and will end up close to the podium.
However as the stewards found out that Schumacher was responsible for the crash, he was handed a penalty after which his race was pretty much ruined.
The German was as high as ninth at that time but after he served his penalty, he dropped down to the 17th place. The German covered up some ground in the race and at the chequered flag, he managed a ninth place finish.
As the track was wet at the start of the race, it became evident that Mercedes have not lost any downforce as both of their drivers were quick on the turns. Since Schumacher is considered as one of the masters of wet driving, he quickly gained some positions
before the first turn.
Although his Mercedes car was capable of more than the ninth place but as the penalty was handed to the German veteran, ninth was the best he could have managed.
However the encouraging thing for Schumacher was that his lap timings at the end of the race, when the track started to dry out, matched with the top three runners.
Schumacher’s teammate, Nico Rosberg on the other hand, started his race from ninth position on the grid and after managing a brilliant run, finished in 6th place in the final standings. After the race, Rosberg was pretty impressed by the pace
of his car and said he was quite satisfied by it.
The Mercedes’ duo managed to end the race in top ten positions thereby pushing the team ahead of the Renault GP team for the first time in the 2011 Formula 1 season.
Mercedes are realistic enough to not eye the championship just yet but the development steps they are taking in the 2011 season will surely help their cause in the 2012 season.
The 2011 season continues in Germany with the tenth race of the season and it will be interesting to see how far the Mercedes GP team goes in the championship battle against the top three teams, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull.
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