Ross Brawn has admitted that Mercedes GP are not yet on the pace of Formula One’s front runners, but is adamant that plans are in place to catch up as soon as possible.
Although Nico Rosberg showed pace throughout Bahrain’s practice sessions, in the race both he and team-mate Michael Schumacher struggled to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari.
However Brawn is confident that a series of updates, schuduled to be introduced for the upcoming races, will move the team forward.
“The team did a good job in Bahrain but we accept that we were not competitive enough and that we have work to do to close the gap to the leaders.” the team principal told Mercedes GP’s official website in a preview for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.
“I was very pleased with the performance of Nico and Michael and the way that they worked together to provide clear and consistent feedback to develop the car over the weekend.
“Whilst our car is fundamentally strong, we have a development plan in place for the next few races which should bring the required performance improvements to compete at the front.”
Brawn’s comments were echoed by Mercedes’ Norbert Haug, who added: “I expect quite a challenging race for us. The base of our car is good and the team is working hard and focused to achieve the next development steps.”
“It will take some time to close the gap but we will definitely close it sooner rather than later. Our spirit is first-class and the whole team is looking forward to the race weekend in Melbourne.”
