Formula One News

Formula One News » Mercedes admits W01 faults, gives Schumi ‘new’ car Posted on 28/04/2010

Michael Schumacher will have a different car for the start of the European Formula One season, after Mercedes GP Petronas conceded that it had made mistakes with the design of its 2010 chassis.

While the switch and the errors are not necessarily related as the root of Schumacher’s struggles in the opening four races, team boss Ross Brawn admitted that the German had been hampered in the four ‘flyaway’ events by the team’s inability to completely overhaul his W01.

“The car he had got damaged during the first few races and we repaired it as best we could at the races,” Brawn revealed to Reuters, “Now we are back at base, we are going to re-introduce the test chassis and he will be using that in Barcelona.”

Schumacher has finished three of the four races that opened the season, succumbing to a mechanical problem in Malaysia, but has struggled to match the performance of young team-mate Nico Rosberg, and has a best finish of sixth place from the season-opener in Bahrain to show for his efforts. The seven-time world champion was hit at the start of the ensuing Australian race, and has struggled for results since.

“We want to eliminate any doubt [about the reason for Schumacher's slow start] because obviously Michael has come back, he’s trying to find his references and is trying to work out how to approach things,” Brawn continued, “It’s not a new chassis per se, it’s a chassis we used in testing.”

Mercedes has also revealed that it will be making changes to its first ‘works’ car after failing to match pacesetters Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren in the opening phase of the season, with Brawn confirming that a lengthened wheelbase and improved weight distribution would accompany a major aerodynamic upgrade for round five in Barcelona next weekend.

“[Schumacher]‘s very determined to succeed and I think these frustrations are just going to make him try even harder,” Brawn warned, “Undoubtedly these tyres are a bit different to what he’s used to and, maybe, the car and the tyres are not towards the way he likes, which is very responsive and very sharp. We haven’t been able to provide him with that yet.

“We’ve not had a fantastic start, but we are still in there because no-one else is really dominating either. There is still plenty of opportunity. The bits where it’s not quite working are not because of [a 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.”

Team-mate Rosberg’s car will be the same as he took to back-to-back podium finishes in Malaysia and China to end the Asian swing, but will benefit from the same revamp as Schumacher’s ahead of Barcelona. The former Williams driver has looked a genuine threat for the top three since the start of the season and Brawn sees no reason why he can’t break his duck in the coming weeks.

“I was frustrated [in China] because Nico could have won that race,” he admitted, “He made one mistake in very difficult circumstances, but he’s very close to winning a race – he just needs things to fall into place [and] that will come. I’m sure he will definitely do it – and I think Michael will too when we get the car sorted.”