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Enthusiast Groups => Motorsports => Formula One => Topic started by: fasteddy on February 02, 2011, 01:32:16 PM
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Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn says there is no doubt that his squad is in a better position going into 2011, while warning that it was too soon to judge whether its improvements had been enough to get to the front.
Having transformed from Honda to Brawn to Mercedes in the space of little over 12 months, with massive reorganisation each time, the team couldn't carry its 2009 title-winning momentum into 2010, and ended the year win-less.
Brawn said that the combination of Mercedes personnel and the ex-Brawn GP crew had gelled increasingly well through 2010, and that with this experience of working with each other and drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, the team was a much more cohesive unit going into the new season.
"It just takes time for people to get to know each other," he said.
"There was a strong desire from us of all, and as time goes on it welds together, and now we're moving strongly in a good direction.
"That's one of the things I've been pleased about in the design and birth of this car.
"I think with this car we've moved a good step forward in terms of construction, weight and centre of gravity, we've recovered a lot of aerodynamic performance that was lost with the regulations.
"Things like the unity of the design groups, it's our second season with the drivers, lots of things have come together and are moving in the right direction.
"You never know if someone's going to make a strong breakthrough, but I'm comfortable that we've made progress in the last six months, and this car is the culmination of that."
He was cautiously optimistic that the new W02 contained solutions for all the flaws of 2010's W01.
"We've definitely made progress on them, though there are certain things you can never have too much of," Brawn joked.
He also shrugged off the hydraulic problem that limited the new car to only a handful of laps on its debut in Valencia testing yesterday.
"I've had cars that take off great then become troublesome, and troublesome cars that become great, so I think we need to get some more running before we understand where we are," said Brawn.
Schumacher's disappointing form on his return was one of the biggest talking points of 2010, and with the German legend having struggled to adapt his driving style to the W01, there had been speculation that the 2011 machine might be designed around Schumacher's needs, perhaps to Rosberg's detriment.
But Brawn dismissed any suggestion that Schumacher had led the development of the W02, saying that both drivers agreed on what they wanted from the latest chassis.
"Both Michael and Nico were giving us very consistent feedback on the areas where the car was not strong," said Brawn.
"You know if you have more downforce you go quicker, you know if you have more horsepower you go quicker, you know if you have a lower centre of gravity you go quicker - there's no need for the drivers to tell us these things because that's basic physics.
"Where they can help you is in the nuances of the car, the change of balance in the car and the reactivity of the car - and I have to say both Michael and Nico were very similar in their views, so we had a clear picture of what we needed to do."