Rosberg: It's amazing to see where we are

Nico Rosberg: I'm very happy with our performance in qualifying. After a difficult start to the season, we are getting closer to the front and I'm pleased that we are making a small step forward each weekend

Nico Rosberg was 'very happy' after qualifying third today for the F1 2011 Turkish Grand Prix.

Rosberg, who finished Friday practice in second and who was fourth in FP3 this morning, maintained that form this afternoon and on his second run in the top-ten shoot-out he just edged out McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to finish the day 'best of the rest', behind the ever-dominant Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Rosberg is now upbeat about his chances in tomorrow's 58-lap grand prix and after a rather difficult start to the season for the Brackley-based team, he will be looking to maximise on his best Q performance since the 2010 Malaysian GP.

“I'm very happy with our performance in qualifying and it's amazing to see where we are right now,” Rosberg reflected. “After a difficult start to the season, we are getting closer to the front and I'm pleased that we are making a small step forward each weekend.

“Thank you to the team for a great job so far. We saved one set of new soft tyres for the race, which will be important in terms of strategy. I'm really looking forward to the race.”

Mercedes boss Norbert Haug meanwhile was very impressed with Rosberg's performance and once again the 25-year-old outshone his illustrious team-mate, Michael Schumacher, who was just over a second slower. Schumacher will start eighth in the sister MGP W02.

“It was a great lap from Nico and everybody in the team has done a very good job to improve the car consistently over the last two Grand's Prix,” Haug remarked.

“Third place behind Sebastian and Mark is a good result for us and our guys have worked extremely hard.

“Michael did not get the perfect lap in Q3, after being second fastest during the morning session, but with a good start from his place on the fourth row, he can improve in the race.”

Source: Crash.net

Leading teams to meet for talks on potential takeover and Formula One's future

Four of Formula One’s biggest teams will meet in Germany this month for summit talks regarding the future of the sport

Representatives from Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are scheduled to meet in Stuttgart a week on Saturday to discuss a range of issues including negotiations over the new Concorde Agreement, various technical regulations including the planned switch to a new 1.6-litre turbo engine from 2013 and, of course, the potential takeover of the sport by a consortium including Rupert Murdoch’s News International and Exor, an investment firm with links to Ferrari.

On Tuesday night, News Corp and Exor released a joint statement confirming their intention to approach the sport’s stakeholders regarding a takeover.

CVC, Formula One’s owners, responded by claiming that the sport was currently not for sale but leaving the door open for a bid.

McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are likely to grill Ferrari on their intentions with regard to the News Corp-Exor partnership. They may even investigate the possibility of joining the consortium themselves and trying to become joint owners in Formula One.

Former team boss Eddie Jordan said on Wednesday that the News Corp-Exor takeover was “just posturing” and there are many who believe that the teams led as usual by Ferrari are trying to use the threat of a takeover, or a breakaway series, to extract a better deal from F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

Source: The Telegraph

Schumi vows to see out his Merc contract

Michael Schumacher insists he is not ready to throw in the towel following another difficult start to the season

A lot was expected of the seven-time World Champion when he came out of retirement in 2010 to sign a deal with Mercedes GP. However, he failed to live up to expectations last year and finished a disappointing ninth in the Drivers' Champions - 70 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Although there has been a marked improvement this year, he is still finding it difficult to match the performances of Rosberg.

There have been suggestions that Schumacher could pack it in before his contract expires in 2012, but he is having none of it.

"I will fulfil my three-year contract with Mercedes after which I will work as a representative of the team's brand," he told Germany's Bunte.

He added: "I am on a mission to take Mercedes GP to the top step of the podium. Fighting for 10th place is not always pleasant. I expect to be in a better position soon."

Although he is confident of improving, Schumacher also admits that being 42-years-old "is not the same as 25".

Source: Planet-F1

Rosberg quickest at a very wet Barcelona

The final day of pre-season testing at Barcelona was a washout as only three of the five drivers set lap times due to the heavy rain

The action began on time at the Spanish circuit with Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Pastor Maldonado braving the conditions.

However, both Alonso and Schumacher only completed five laps each with neither setting a time as they went in and out of the pits.

Lewis Hamilton joined the action for McLaren and was the pace-setter at the lunch break with a 1:50.280.

It should be noted, though, that the 2008 World Champion was also the only driver to set a time in the morning session, which saw a total of just 28 laps completed.

Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, replaced Schumacher just before lunch and continued through into the afternoon.

And with the rain continuing throughout the day, the German proved to the quickest in the wet, taking advantage of a slight let-up late in the day.

Rosberg, who covered 35 laps, clocked a 1:43.814 to edge Maldonado by 0.519s.

And although Hamilton improved to a 1:44.560, he had to settle for third place.

Ferrari opted to pack up early with Alonso not running at all in the afternoon.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.814 35 laps
02. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:44.333 + 0.519 23 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:44.560 + 0.746 33 laps
04. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 5 laps
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 5 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Schumi: P1 W02 will be our Aus car

Michael Schumacher had no complaints with his upgraded W02, setting the fastest lap time in Friday's Barcelona test

The seven-time World Champion clocked a 1:21.249 at the Spanish circuit, which was the fastest time seen at the track this year.

It was an encouraging performance from Schumacher, who confirmed that the W02 in action at Barcelona on Friday will be the W02 that his team takes to the season-opening Australian GP.

"We have been developing the car step-by-step this week with new parts arriving each day," the German revealed.

"So our focus today has been on understanding how to get the best from the car now that it is pretty much in its final configuration for the first time.

"The car has behaved as we expected and it's been a very productive day.

"We completed our programme and I should also be able to get some experience of the expected wet conditions tomorrow."

With the rain expected on Saturday, Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg put in a few hours in the dry on Friday.

And the younger German was not that far off his team-mate's pace, finishing 0.539s down, taking third place behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

"First of all, it's super that I was able to do some laps today, given the forecast for tomorrow," said Rosberg.

"It was a good few laps, and obviously now that we have most of the developments for the car, it was handling much better and I had a good feeling.

"So I'm pretty pleased with the situation and would like to thank the whole team for getting everything onto the car that we wanted. We've made good progress over the winter."

Source: Planet-F1

Merc upgrade shows pace at Barcelona

All through pre-season testing, Mercedes GP have promised their upgraded package will have pace - and that's exactly what it had at Barcelona on Friday

New parts arrived for Mercedes GP's W02 late Thursday at the Circuit de Catalunya and Michael Schumacher had the opportunity to test the revised car on Day Four of the final pre-season test.

The German, using the revised front wing and new turning vanes, clocked a 1:21.249 to set the pace ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Schumacher's lap time was also the fastest witnessed at Barcelona this year.

Alonso, meanwhile, spent his morning on qualifying style runs, which was when his set his 1:21.614, before switching to a race simulation in the afternoon. And once again, the Ferrari demonstrated both its pace and reliability with Spaniard amassing 141 laps.

Nico Rosberg was next in line as he took over for Schumacher in the afternoon. Although Rosberg was only expected to run on Saturday, the German was given a few hours late in the day as rain is expected at the Spanish circuit tomorrow.

Nick Heidfeld was fourth for Lotus Renault, although his running was cut short in the afternoon due to an undisclosed problem, while Rubens Barrichello was the final driver to get within a second of Schumacher's P1 time.

Kamui Kobayashi and Jaime Alguersuari were sixth and seventh with the latter saying "pre-season testing as reasonably positive for our team.

"We have learned a lot about the new parameters we have from this year's rules and obviously understanding the new Pirelli tyres has been an important element of these tests.

"It has been very different to the previous year, so now we start a new Championship in Melbourne, with a new philosophy. I think we have a good car, which shows potential. However, we still need to improve a lot and that will involve plenty of hard work in the coming weeks."

Sebastian Vettel completed the top eight but managed just 63 laps and brought out the red flags late in the day when he stopped at the exit of the pit lane.

Once again it was not a good day for McLaren with Jenson Button finishing down in 13th place, 4.588s off the pace. He amassed just 57 laps due to an engine change.

Five teams, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and Hispania Racing, will continue at the Circuit de Catalunya on Saturday in what will be the final day of pre-season testing.

Times
01. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.249 67 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.614 + 0.365 141 laps
03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.788 + 0.539 22 laps
04. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m22.073 + 0.824 67 laps
05. Rubens Barrichello Williams 1m22.233 + 0.984 89 laps
06. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1m22.315 + 1.066 98 laps
07. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1m22.675 + 1.426 72 laps
08. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1m22.933 + 1.684 64 laps
09. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1m23.437 + 2.188 138 laps
10. Paul di Resta Force India 1m23.653 + 2.404 42 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.921 + 2.672 26 laps
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1m24.108 + 2.859 11 laps
13. Jenson Button McLaren 1m25.837 + 4.588 57 laps
14. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin 1m27.375 + 6.126 46 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Brawn reveals: Merc W02 is running hot

Mercedes GP team boss Ross Brawn has revealed that a "cooling problem" has hampered his team's progress in pre-season testing

In 11 days of pre-season testing, Mercedes GP's W02 has proven to be one of the most inconsistent 2011 challengers.

The car has shown signs of pace with Nico Rosberg setting the second fastest time at the recent Barcelona test while Auto Moto und Sport claims Merc GP had the "number one top speed" at the Spanish track.

The drivers, though, have struggled to put in consistent lap times, prompting rivals to suggest that Mercedes GP are lagging behind the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.

"It's a fair statement," was Brawn's response when asked by his team's official website whether he is worried that they are behind their rivals.

"We are well aware of the pace of our current car, the distance to the current frontrunners and the reasons for this, which include the compromises brought about by our cooling issues.

"Our intention was always to launch the car in a fairly basic specification to allow more time to focus on the upgrade package. This inevitably means that we look further off the pace than people might expect.

"Knowing all of the facts, I am comfortable with our current position and the developments that we have to come."

Brawn added that the solution the team came up with to the cooling problem had a negative impact on their current car's pace. However, he fully expects the situation to be resolved when they introduce their updated package.

"The biggest challenge for us so far has been a cooling problem.

"The short-term modifications that we made to the launch-specification car cost a reasonable amount of performance.

"The solution has been incorporated into the bodywork design for our upgrade package and will recover that performance before the first race."

As for the W02's reliability, which has caused a few frustrating moments for Brawn and his drivers, he said: "You naturally expect to experience faults with a new car and fortunately we've had relatively few of a 'car-stopping' nature so the impact on our programme has not been significant.

"Our mileage has been good, we've covered 4,300kms over the three tests to date and, of course, the more mileage you can achieve, the more opportunities there are to identify any issues and resolve them before the season gets underway."

Source: Planet-F1

Helmut Marko says Renault and Mercedes trailing

Helmut Marko has backed paddock sentiment that Red Bull and Ferrari are heading into the 2011 season as the early favourites for the title.

“Red Bull and Ferrari are at eye-level,” the energy drink-owned team’s driver consultant told Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung.

“And McLaren has the potential to catch up before the start of the season,” added Marko.

Another potential frontrunner is Renault, after Robert Kubica and then his replacement Nick Heidfeld so impressed at recent Spanish tests.

“Renault are showing they are a lot more competitive than they were last year,” Fernando Alonso said in a television interview, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

German Heidfeld, however, is not quite as confident.

“My guess is that there are still some teams ahead of us — especially Red Bull,” he is quoted by F1′s official website on Wednesday.

Red Bull’s Marko agrees: “Mercedes and Renault are not quite at the level of the top three.”

Source: YallaF1

Barcelona: Rosberg's turn to shine

With the rain abating on Sunday afternoon, Nico Rosberg put in the fastest lap time seen at Barcelona this week

It was a gloomy start to Day Three at the Circuit de Catalunya with rain falling as the drivers ventured out.

The wet track gave the drivers valuable time on the Pirelli wet and intermediate tyres, however, it also claimed a few cars.

Pastor Maldonado was the first off in the wet, spinning his Williams FW33 into the gravel at Turn Five, while an hour later his fellow rookie Sergio Perez crashed his Sauber C30 at Turn Four.

But it wasn't just the rookies who were having a tough time of things as Felipe Massa brought out the red flags twice in less than half an hour. The Ferrari driver spun his F150th Italia at Turn Four and again at Turn Seven.

Massa and Toro Rosso test driver Daniel Ricciardo were the early pace-setters in the wet while Lewis Hamilton took over as the track began to dry out, leading the way at the lunchbreak.

But, by the close of play with the track completely dry, it was Rosberg who stormed to the front of the pack with his 1:23.168, which was 0.147s quicker than the week's previous best, which had been set by Sebastian Vettel on Friday.

The Mercedes GP driver's best was on a short qualifying style run while he had been down in the 1:29s when putting his car through a 15-lap stint.

Renault's Vitaly Petrov took second, 0.295 seconds slower than Rosberg, while Hamilton finished up in third, 0.690s off the pace.

Hamilton's day, though, was not without problems as reliability gremlins during the morning session repeatedly resulted in him having to return to the pits after just one or two laps.

Maldonado was next in line, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber. The latter was the final driver to bring out the red flags when he stopped out on track at Turn One in the final minute of the day's play. Webber was 1.827s off the pace.

Despite a water leak problem, Jarno Trulli put his Lotus T128 up into sixth place, finishing ahead of Perez and Force India's Adrian Sutil.

Sebastien Buemi, who only ran in the afternoon after replacing Toro Rosso test driver Ricciardo, and Massa completed the top ten.

Times
01. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:23.168 92 laps
02. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault 1:23.463 + 0.295 93 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:23.858 + 0.690 93 laps
04. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:24.815 + 1.647 60 laps
05. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:24.995 + 1.827 139 laps
06. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:25.454 + 2.286 48 laps
07. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:25.557 + 2.389 115 laps
08. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:25.720 + 2.552 102 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1:26.155 + 2.987 31 laps
10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.508 + 3.340 123 laps
11. Timo Glock Virgin 1:26.598 + 3.430 97 laps
12. Giorgio Mondini Hispania 1:28.178 + 5.010 39 laps
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:28.329 + 5.161 42 laps
14. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania 1:30.722 + 7.554 32 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Schumi: Race wins, not the World title

Michael Schumacher concedes that while his Mercedes GP W02 may win a race in 2011, the car is not up to challenging for the World title

The first half of pre-season testing has produced varying form from Merc GP's W02, which is proving to be rather inconsistent.

While the car has shown moments of pace, resulting in Schumi finishing the Jerez test with the week's second fastest lap time, on most days the team has finished outside the top half of the timesheets.

Reliability has also proven to be a bit of a worry, although the bulk of the gremlins have befallen Rosberg.

And with half of pre-season testing already completed, Schumacher fears his W02 is not a Championship-winning car.

"The target is still the same as we said weeks ago: to hopefully be, with this car, on the podium and maybe, if things go very well, to win a race this year," said the 42-year-old

"That's probably the maximum we can talk about, but it is very difficult to judge our performance at the moment against the others because obviously we will improve the car a little bit further to the Bahrain race.

"But, how much compared to the others, that's the question mark."

Source: Planet-F1

2011 title win for Mercedes ’difficult’ - Schumacher

Michael Schumacher has admitted it will be "difficult" for Mercedes to triumph in 2011.

The seven time world champion returned from retirement last year and had a troubled comeback season with the German marque.

Mercedes GP is looking more confidently into its second season since the Brawn takeover, but so far the pace and reliability of the new W02 has appeared less than perfect.

"We are Mercedes and our goal is clear," Schumacher is quoted in German by sport1.de. "It will be difficult to achieve our goal this year but we have a vision that is not only short term."

Schumacher ended a day of the recent Jerez test with the fastest time, but it has been rumoured that it was achieved with low fuel on the super-soft tyre.

"Only the first race in Bahrain will show us exactly what our situation is," said the 42-year-old.

Schumacher’s teammate Nico Rosberg has occasionally sounded pessimistic since the debut of the 2011 car, but he told F1’s official website that he is not panicking.

"Yes, we weren’t too fast in Valencia but with Michael’s two days of running in Jerez we are obviously heading in the right direction," he said.

Rosberg said last week that the W02’s current specification is akin to an "interim car", with a big step scheduled for closer to the Bahrain opener.

Source: Motorsport.com

Schumi Admits: Merc 'Slightly Concerned'

Despite topping the timesheets at Jerez on Friday, Michael Schumacher admits Mercedes GP are "slightly concerned" about their lack of pace

Schumacher was in action at the Spanish circuit on Friday and Saturday, finishing first and third. However, on both days his best times were one-offs as the German struggled to find a consistent pace with his new W02.

In fact, on Friday when he finished at the front of the pack, Schumacher's average lap time put him outside the top half of the field.

"Yes, we are slightly concerned but then on the other hand we know where we will and want to go to," the 42-year-old told the BBC.

"The first race will tell us truly what is the situation."

Mercedes have already made it clear that their target is to win the F1 World titles, however, Schumacher reckons that's going to be a difficult task this season, especially at the start.

"For the team it is very important to climb the ladder and have more success than last year.

"We are Mercedes and we have a very clear target. It is going to be difficult to meet this target straight away this year particularly after last year's experience.

"But it is a programme and a vision for more than just the short term."

One aspect that will have an impact on Mercedes GP's season are the new Pirelli tyres, which Schumacher says Merc still need to get a handle on.

"We have a character of car that we built up," he said, "but we have a new character of tyres and how much they will be in harmony is difficult to say at this moment in time.

"It seemed less important last year and is more important this year."

Source: Planet-F1

Jerez: Heidfeld moves closer to Renault seat

Nick Heidfeld took a step closer to a Lotus Renault drive when he set the fastest lap time at Jerez on Saturday

The German had been called up by the team to take part in a trial as they bid to find someone to fill in for the injured Robert Kubica.

And Heidfeld may have guaranteed his return to a F1 race-seat with his 1:20.361, which he clocked in the final hour of testing using the softer option Pirelli tyres.

Fernando Alonso had to settle for second place after leading the charge for the better part of the day. The Ferrari driver was 0.132s adrift of Heidfeld's best, having his set his time early in the morning when he was conducting qualifying style runs.

Michael Schumacher came home in third place with a 1:21.054. And although his time was seven-tenths slower than his P1 time from Friday, the Mercedes GP driver's lap times were a lot more consistent on his final day of testing for the week.

Lewis Hamilton put his McLaren MP4-26 up into fourth place, however, he managed just 36 laps. According to reports, it was a shortage of parts that kept the 2008 World Champ stuck in his garage for the better part of the day.

Kamui Kobayashi was next in line, the final driver to get within a second of Heidfeld's P1 time. However, it was a stop-start day for the Sauber driver as he brought out the red flags on two occasions, both due to problems with his C30.

Sebastian Vettel spent his day concentrating on short-distance runs, finishing in seventh place ahead of Sebastien Buemi.

"The team has done a good job moving on with the development of the car since I last drove it in Valencia," said Toro Rosso's Swiss driver.

"It is definitely better, although at the moment there is no point in talking about its performance level, as we are still working mainly on understanding everything about it."

Team Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen was next in line while Williams once again struggled with their KERS unit with Rubens Barrichello down in ninth place ahead of Paul di Resta, who had a late spin after earlier suffering with brake problems, and Virgin Racing rookie Jerome D'Ambrosio.

Times
01. Nick Heidfeld Lotus Renault 1:20.361 86 laps
02. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:20.493 + 0.132 131 laps
03. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:21.054 + 0.693 114 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.099 + 0.738 36 laps
05. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:21.242 + 0.881 84 laps
06. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:21.574 + 1.213 98 laps
07. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.681 + 1.320 92 laps
08. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1:21.711 + 1.350 61 laps
09. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:22.227 + 1.866 99 laps
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:22.945 + 2.584 64 laps
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:25.471 + 5.110 72 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Jerez: Schumi tops the charts

Michael Schumacher set the pace at Jerez on Friday where once again the times set during the morning session proved to be the best

The seven-time World Champion clocked a 1:20.352 on a run that was more than ten laps. However, as the day progressed, he struggled to match his best and in fact found himself outside the top half in terms of pace over longer distances.

Thursday's pace-setter Felipe Massa dropped to second place, 0.061s behind his former Ferrari team-mate. Massa had a busy day, finishing with the most laps completed and an average of 1:27s per lap during his long-distance runs.

Jenson Button, who had his first taste of McLaren's MP4-26, was third quickest, although the Brit spent a large part of the morning - which was when the faster times were set - in the pits as McLaren conducted system checks.

Jaime Alguersuari, who was fourth quickest on Friday, just 0.862s off the pace, was the first to run into trouble on Day Two as the Toro Rosso driver spun off the track, bringing out the red flags.

His car was taken back to the pits, however, it wasn't long before he was back in the action, working on a programme that featured three key elements; tyre evaluation, weight distribution and car set-up work.

The Spaniard said: "In performance terms, it is still a bit too early to start drawing conclusions, especially as the lap times here vary a lot from the morning to the afternoon, but I am reasonably confident that this side of the car's progress is on the right track."

Mark Webber was fifth for Red Bull Racing, finishing ahead of Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez. However, the latter's day was curtailed when he crashed between Turns Seven and Eight during the afternoon session.

Timo Glock was next in line, three-tenths up on Renault's Vitaly Petrov, who was another to bring out the red flags when he spun off track in the morning.

The day's final flag belonged to Pastor Maldonado as the Williams driver became the second rookie to crash. He lost control at Turn Four, damaging the front and rear of his FW32 as he hit the wall.

Jarno Trulli completed the timesheets after failing to make an appearance in the afternoon due to an unspecified mechanical problem.

Times
01. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:20.352 112 laps
02. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.413 + 0.061 116 laps
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.009 + 0.657 69 laps
04. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.214 + 0.862 72 laps
05. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.613 + 1.261 113 laps
06. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:21.780 + 1.428 73 laps
07. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:21.857 + 1.505 56 laps
08. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.208 + 1.856 57 laps
09. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.493 + 2.141 65 laps
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:22.591 + 2.239 38 laps
11. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:23.216 + 2.864 40 laps

Source: Planet-F1

In the hands of fans - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes reveal of the MP4-26

Source: vodafone

Schumacher plays down simulator sickness struggles

Michael Schumacher says that he is not the only driver on the grid to suffer from motion sickness as a result of driving Formula One simulators.

Reports last week linked Schumacher's struggles in keeping pace with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg last year to his limited time in the team's Brackley simulator before the start of the season.

But the seven-time world champion played down the connection between his motion sickness and his disappointing return to the sport.

"I think almost all the drivers that I know have had it [motion sickness]," Schumacher told Telegraph Sport. "When we had our first simulator at Ferrari I had exactly this feeling already so it's nothing to do with age. People get used to it by going through certain processes."

Although the majority of teams use simulators to help drivers to get to grips with new circuits, Schumacher also cast doubts about the usefulness of the technology.

"As far as I understand there are some other top teams that have a simulator but make very little use of it. For us drivers the main benefit of them would be to get used to a track. But for me personally that has never been an issue. I don't see the big advantage of them."

Source: ESPNF1

Mercedes GP MGP W02 - Interview with Schumacher, Rosberg & Brawn

S0urce: NextgenAuto

Newspaper reveals photo of 2011 Mercedes

Two days ahead of the rest of the world, a German newspaper has revealed the first photo of Mercedes’ formula one car for 2011.

Bild am Sonntag published a photo showing the W02 with a very high and wide nose, a shinier silver livery and a reversion to a more conventional airbox.

The car will only be officially launched on Tuesday morning before it is tested for the first time as pre-season testing kicks off at Valencia.

"It has a shiny new silver paint, which really illumates the beautiful shapes," said the German marque’s motor sport vice-president Norbert Haug.

He said the goal is to race with the front-runners this season, and team boss Ross Brawn revealed that designers have been aggressive with the W02.

"Last year I had to turn down some of the engineers’ interesting suggestions. Now it’s different. We are much better organised," said the Briton.

Added Michael Schumacher: "The guys have done a very good job, I am very satisfied.

"We decided to start work on the car very early last season. We knew quite quickly what was wrong with the 2010 car and have improved significantly in all of those areas."

And Brawn said of of the W02’s proudest boasts is its KERS system.

"It is very light, very compact, and will affect the balance hardly at all. It is a big step," he revealed.



Source: Nextgen

Mercedes figure hints no test return for Heidfeld

Mercedes is talking to potential candidates to become the team’s test and reserve driver in 2011.

Before returning to the grid last year with Sauber, Nick Heidfeld started 2010 in the third role at Mercedes.

But the marque’s head of marketing Joachim Schmidt suggested that a non-German will be appointed for this season.

"We already have two German drivers," he told the Bietigheimer Zeitung newspaper, referring to the unchanged race line-up including Nico Rosberg.

"At the moment we are in conversation with potential candidates," added Schmidt.

Mercedes had a difficult first year away from long-time partner McLaren, finishing the constructors’ championship just fourth despite having Michael Schumacher on board.

But Schmidt insisted: "The financial burden, compared to when we were partnered with McLaren, is clearly lower.

"For us, because of the advertising revenue and the money from FOM, it is economically more attractive than before.

"For this reason, we have the backing of our workforce for our formula one engagement."

Source: Motorsport

Schumacher: I can win another title

Michael Schumacher is confident that he can still add to his seven World titles despite suggestions that he is too old to reach the summit of F1

Having returned to the sport after a three-year absence, the German failed to reach the standards he had set in the past and generally performed below most expectations.

Despite this, the World Champion has lost none of the self-belief that helped him to seven World titles during the 1990's and 2000's, declaring that he is certain he can challenge for the top honours in 2011.

"Absolutely [I can win another title]," the German told F1 Racing.

"Look, we have a three-year project. Very clearly right now, we are not where we want to be. We've put a lot of effort into coming back and are optimistic we have a chance.

"But in the history of Formula 1, when does it ever happen that you come back straightaway from this level to win in just one year? Very rarely.

"So I'm sure we can fight for wins this year and we might be able to fight for the championship. I hope so. I'm here on a mission and I want to succeed. I want to perform and I'm going to put 100 per cent into it. And if that's not the case in 2011, then we will have to do it in the final year," he added.

Source: Planet-F1