Mercedes must do better in China
After good winter testing, the first two races for the Mercedes team did not go as planned. However, the entire German team has worked hard in recent weeks to improve the pace of the F1 W03 in race conditions. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher hope that all these efforts will pay off in Shanghai.
Mercedes AMG’s start to the season isn’t living up to expectations as the German team has only scored one point, placing them 9th in the constructors’ standings. The goal for the brand with the star will be to bounce back in China and to turn the promising performance of the F1 W03 seen in Australia and Malaysia into results.
Ross Brawn, the team director, hopes that the work done in recent weeks will finally bear fruit in Shanghai: We hope to have more success on the track this weekend than in the first two races where our race results did not meet our expectations after two good starts to the weekend. We have analyzed things and have worked hard at the factory since our return (from Malaysia), and I hope these efforts can pay off on Sunday in Shanghai with a performance that reflects the capabilities of the F1 W03.
After his retirement in Australia, Michael Schumacher took the point for 10th place in Malaysia. However, in race conditions, the Mercedes is not as fast as in qualifying, but the team and Schumacher are working on the issue: I have never had much luck in Shanghai, apart from my victory in 2006; however, that could change this year. In the first two races of 2012, we have not been able to maintain our qualifying pace in race conditions. We are working intensively on this matter, in order to offer our fans a good performance in China.
Nico Rosberg expressed impatience to race in China because it is a circuit that has been quite successful for him in recent years: I was on the podium in 2010 and led the race last year. I love the Shanghai International Circuit with its long and unique turns. For me, China is the real start of the season because the first two races did not go as planned.
But like Schumacher, Keke Rosberg’s son knows that the entire Mercedes team must continue working to optimize the performance of the F1 W03 in race conditions: The track is quite different from the first two, as the forces are greater on the front tires than on the rear. We know we have a fast car, but we are looking to improve our pace on long stints for China and thus achieve a better performance during the race.
