Sunday Report: Mercedes GP – A Weekend to Forget

The results were not particularly good after yesterday’s qualifying, and they are even worse today. Both W02s were forced to retire due to collisions.

Michael Schumacher’s race was compromised from the third turn with a right-rear puncture caused by a collision with Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso. The floor of his car was also damaged in the process, which led the seven-time world champion to retire his car to the garage.

Nico Rosberg was on track to score valuable points before Rubens Barrichello attempted a kamikaze maneuver at the same turn number 3 and ended his race.

Nico Rosberg – DNF:

« It’s a disappointing first weekend. It was a difficult race until my retirement with the car behind running into me. I saw Rubens in my mirror and he was quite far, so I was surprised he hit me. I immediately thought it was over and had to stop the car. »

« It’s really a shame for the team because they’ve worked very hard all weekend and also during the winter. However, we are focusing on the positives and it will be interesting to see our performances in Malaysia. Melbourne is a unique circuit and we will only know where we stand after a few races.

Michael Schumacher – USA:

The start of the season certainly did not go as we had hoped, and we will forget this race and focus on the next one in Malaysia. I am really sorry for the guys here and at the factory who have worked so hard all winter, but for some reasons, we have not been able to translate that work into results this weekend.

«As for the race itself, I got off to a pretty good start, but I was hit in turn 3, which punctured my right rear tire and caused damage to the floor. Given the extent of this damage, we decided to stop the race for safety reasons.»

It’s really a shame that Nico was hit when he could have scored some points for the team. I remain convinced that we have potential, as we saw this winter, and I am confident that we will come back to the fight.

Ross Brawn – Team Principal:

«It’s a very frustrating weekend for our team. Michael’s race was cut short almost immediately with a collision that caused damage, forcing us to retire. »

Nico was driving well, but an optimistic maneuver by Rubens ended his race. It’s a disappointing end to a disappointing first weekend. We will show our strength as a team, put this race behind us, and move forward.