Sunday: Mercedes GP is making progress
Starting from 9th and 13th positions, the Mercedes GP drivers were able to climb up the rankings to score important points, allowing the German team to move ahead of Lotus Renault GP in the Constructors' Championship.
Nico Rosberg – 6th:
« I am relatively happy with our result this weekend. Firstly, because in qualifying we had the potential to be in the top 5, then we had a good race strategy. My start wasn’t good, so being able to finish sixth is a good result for us. »
Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a positive spiral before our home race in Germany, so I’m looking forward to confirming our performances at the Nürburgring. In the coming days, we will analyze the entire weekend with our new developments on the car and will work hard to improve them even further.
Michael Schumacher – 9th:
« My result is a bit disappointing, and I am obviously not happy with it. I think fifth or even fourth place were achievable today. Thanks to the guys in Brackley and Brixworth for the great work they have done. I would have loved to bring them some big points tonight when we return to the factory for a barbecue with their families. But unfortunately, due to my mistake, I can’t. Using DRS for the first time in the race, I went too fast into a corner. My braking was not good, and that’s how my collision happened. It was fair to get a penalty, but why a stop and go and not a drive through, I would like to understand better. In any case, the positive point is that gradually our team’s work is paying off more and more, and it’s a good feeling before our home race. »
Ross Brawn:
« This is a solid result for the team and a reasonable haul of points. After starting 9th and 13th, Nico and Michael made good progress through the field. They had mixed fortunes at the start; Michael gained 4 positions while Nico lost three in the first corners. »
Michael’s race was obviously ruined by his collision and he was doubly penalized as he did part of the lap at a slow pace and then received a stop and go. Then he drove very well and climbed back up from 17th place to score 2 points.
Nico’s race was simpler, but we asked him to go to the end of the race by the 30th lap and he did a very solid job to get there. It was the first race with our new specification, with the new exhausts and other aerodynamic developments, and we only had an hour of running in the dry before qualifying.
« With this in mind, we can be encouraged by our performance today. One of our previous issues was making the tires work correctly, but both drivers managed to run more than 115 kilometers on a set of softs this afternoon, which suggests we have made good progress in this area. »
