Star Lounge
Enthusiast Groups => Motorsports => Formula One => Topic started by: fasteddy on April 26, 2010, 05:13:35 PM
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Mercedes GP is aiming to ignite Michael Schumacher’s lacklustre Formula 1 comeback season with a chassis switch for the Spanish Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion has been consistently outpaced by team-mate Nico Rosberg so far and has admitted to finding the latest generation of F1 cars somewhat alien.
The German has struggled in particular with the understeer balance generated by the narrower front tyres introduced this season – preferring a lively, responsive front end that enables him to commit to corner entries with confidence.
In a bid to reverse his fortunes Schumacher will use a different chassis at the next race in Barcelona from the one he used in the first four flyaway races.
“It’s not a new chassis per se, it’s a chassis we used in testing,” team principal Ross Brawn told Reuters at a charity event on Monday.
“The one he had got damaged during the first few races and we repaired it as best we could at the races.
“But now we are back at base we are going to reintroduce the test chassis and he will be using that in Barcelona.
“We want to eliminate any doubt because obviously Michael has come back, he’s trying to find his references and is trying to work out how to approach things.”
The understeering characteristic that Schumacher dislikes is accentuated by the W01 having a more rearward weight distribution than the other leading cars, which Brawn admitted in Shanghai was the result of miscalculating the effect of the new front tyres.
The team hopes a longer wheelbase on the Barcelona-spec car will address this, and also plans to introduce a raft of aerodynamic updates.
Brawn remains convinced that Schumacher will find more pace soon based on the team’s analysis of where he is currently losing time to Rosberg.
“He is so determined and you can see that in his driving,” he said.
“The bits where it’s not quite working are not because of [lack of] skill or bravery, it’s because the technique needs tuning and the car needs tuning.
“It’s odd places where he’s losing time and that’s why we think he’ll sort it out and we’ll sort it out and get to where we need to.”
Meanwhile Brawn believes it is only a matter of time before the increasingly impressive Rosberg wins his first grand prix.
“I was frustrated at the weekend [in China] because Nico could have won that race,” he said.
“He made one mistake in very difficult circumstances.
“He’s very close to winning a race, just needs things to fall into place... but that will come.
“I’m sure he will definitely do it and I think Michael will when we get the car sorted.”