Saturday: There is progress at Mercedes GP
The W02 seems to have made progress on this circuit. The best evidence of this is Nico Rosberg's fourth position on the starting grid. His teammate was less fortunate. The red flag caused by the incident with Petrov and a new rear wing problem kept Schumacher out of Q3. The seven-time world champion is counting on a good race pace to gain a few positions.
Nico Rosberg – 4th:
«I am happy with our performance and it was a good day for us. It’s clear that we improved the car this weekend and I am very happy for everyone at the factory who must be pleased to see that today. »
We are not yet where we would like to be, but we have made some progress and are closer to the guys in front of us, at least today. We have also worked hard on the race pace, so there is a chance that we will have a good race tomorrow.
Michael Schumacher – 14th:
What a shame for me today. We clearly demonstrated that we have improved this weekend. Nico proved it with his fourth place, which was our goal. I couldn’t do a good lap in Q2. We found out that my rear wing wasn’t working properly when I was in turn 14. I hope to make a good start tomorrow. We have a good race pace, so I can hope to gain a few positions.
Ross Brawn – team principal:
The car was much more competitive this weekend, and both drivers were in good positions to start in qualifying today. It’s unfortunate for Michael because the red flag and his problem with the rear wing cost him valuable time.
Nico did a fantastic job this afternoon, making it into Q3 under difficult circumstances and delivering a good lap on used tires.
I’m happy that we have stabilized the situation and made encouraging progress this weekend. There is still a long way to go but it’s a start.
