Brawn: “Our level – Guesses”

First of all, what is your view on the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix?
It was certainly the right decision to make. Bahrain has its own priorities and it is important that Bahrainis can resolve the situation together, away from the spotlight that the F1 would inevitably not have avoided attracting.

With the cancellation, also, of the tests which were planned there, what is the team?s new program?
We will return to Barcelona from Wednesday March 9 to Saturday March 12. Nico (Rosberg) will take the wheel on Wednesday and Saturday, Michael (Schumacher) Thursday and Friday.

Can the time you now have before Melbourne be an advantage for Mercedes GP?
There will be no real impact on the development program as there was no development initially expected between Bahrain and Melbourne. These two additional weeks will of course be used to allow the men to perfect their preparation before the first race. The car will not be different from what was programmed.

How did the Barcelona tests go last week?
This session was the last with the version we presented. With it, we covered almost 500 kilometers every day, or 50% more than we had completed until then. It was a good week, during which we had the opportunity to complete the work on the set -up and improve understanding of how tires work on a flying lap, as well as on long runs. We managed to carry out two race simulations with Michael and Nico on our first attempt, the car finishing in good conditions without having the slightest problem.

After Jerez, you admitted that the car rolled with certain compromises. What were they and what impact did they have on the behavior of the car?
The cooling system was the center of our attention. The few changes quickly made slightly reduced its performance. The solution to the problem has been integrated into the bodywork of our evolution and we will have regained our initial performance during the first race.

In Barcelona, ​​the team tested different variants of the front wing. Why ?
The one we used in Spain is not the same one we will have in Melbourne. The previous one was a derivative of the one at the end of 2010. We took advantage of the time on track to study and confirm the direction we had chosen beforehand.

According to observers, performances are lower than the top teams. Are you worried?
These are just guesses. We know what the real pace of our car is, how far we are from the fastest and why. In particular the cooling problems that I have just mentioned. Our intention has always been to present a car in a basic specification to give us more time to develop the evolved model. This logically means that we are wasting more time than people expected of us. Knowing all these parameters, I am not worried about where we are.

How did the pilots feel?
Both left Barcelona with a better appreciation of how to operate the tires and how to adapt their riding to get the most out of these Pirelli compounds. We set out to prepare them as best as possible for the scenarios of a race weekend, and more particularly qualifying and the race using the SREC and the movable rear wing. Our two pilots seemed satisfied with the progress made.

Are you confident that the team has successfully resolved the reliability issues encountered?
Yes. You are always ready to accept problems with a new car and fortunately, we only encountered a few which did not disrupt our program too much. We covered almost 4300 kilometers during the three test sessions (in Valencia, Jerez then Barcelona) but, of course, the more you cover, the more likely you are to identify problems and resolve them before the start. ?send of the season.

What do you think are the reasons for optimism?
Reliability is now better and the evolution of our package will be ready for the next ride.

Will Mercedes GP be able to mix with the top three teams?
It is still too early to say because the teams will only have an idea of ​​their true potential on the evening of the final test in Barcelona. We have a solid foundation on which to progress. Our objective is to be at a higher level than 2010, therefore to tickle the best.

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