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Katzenjammer at Mercedes: Schumi and Rosberg without a chance

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What a shame at Mercedes
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T he season has started well for Mercedes. There was a victory in Shanghai and a best time in practice in Monte Carlo. But since the GP England the worm has been in it. 'We're stagnating, the others are getting better, and now the racetracks don't suit our car either,' said Michael Schumacher, describing the situation. The Hungaroring and Spa have one thing in common, despite the very different layouts. Long curves. Then the Mercedes begin to understeer in the middle of the curve.

Balance problems at Mercedes

For Michael Schumacher it was only enough to place 13th on the grid. “My lap was perfect,” recapitulated the record winner, “but unfortunately I couldn't get more than 13th place. It's incredibly tight. When you consider that Sebastian Vettel is only two places in front of me and Felipe Massa behind, then you can see how much small problems affect the result. '

Team boss Ross Brawn described the small problem:' We didn't bring our tires into the working window at the same time. The front tires got up to temperature earlier than the rear ones. ' This leads to balance shifts within one round. 'That shouldn't be a problem in the race because you have a longer run-up and the tires are in the working window at some point,' hopes Brawn. For once, he doesn't have to worry about the rear tires. They generally have an easier life in Spa.

Rosberg in qualifying without setup

Everything went wrong with Nico Rosberg. In the fifth lap of the third practice session, he parked his Mercedes. A bearing broke in the gearbox. 'We have this defect for the first time', annoyed Ross Brawn. The gearbox seems to be slowly developing into the Achilles' heel of the Silver Arrows. In Melbourne, Schumacher stopped with gearbox damage. In Hockenheim, Rosberg had to drop five starting positions because a crack in the gearbox housing was discovered. Rosberg suffered the same punishment this time. He slipped from 18th to 23rd place on the grid.

Rosberg didn't have a fair chance in qualifying. It couldn't get worse. No data was available due to the rain on Friday. Everything focused on the third training session on Saturday. 'I had two laps with a full tank, no setup for qualification, and had to find my way first.'

Additional handicap. The team stole an additional lap from Rosberg because his engineer instructed him to keep a distance from the vehicle in frontcreate. In doing so, Rosberg missed the finish line for another lap by two tenths.

Mercedes has hopes for the facelift

The prospects for the race are not rosy either. 'I'm far back and not fast enough.' Rosberg sees no parallel to Michael Schumacher, who last year drove from the back row to fifth. 'In 2011 our car was faster in Spa.'

Although the form curve is pointing down, Mercedes is still hoping for the last third of the season. The Monza high-speed line should suit the Silver Arrows, and a major facelift of the car has been announced for Singapore. 'I'm assuming real progress,' said Schumacher in a good mood. Ross Brawn agrees. 'With more downforce, many problems solve themselves.'

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