Michael Schumacher says that he is looking forward to competing in the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix, but believes that Mercedes still have a long way to go to challenge the teams at the front.
Although Schumacher achieved a season-best fourth place finish in Spain, the seven-times champion finished around a minute adrift of race winner Mark Webber.
However the German believes that the tight and twisty nature of the Monaco circuit should suit the Mercedes W01 much better and that the team will continue to work together to find more speed in the package.
“I have always liked to drive in Monaco and that’s why I am really looking forward to competing there this weekend.” he said in Mercedes GP’s Monaco team preview. “The Monaco Grand Prix certainly adds something very special to the Formula 1 calendar and driving through the streets of Monte Carlo is undoubtedly unique.”
“We go there and hope that the characteristics of the street circuit suit our car better than in Spain last weekend.
“On the other hand, we should be careful to expect too much this time as we have seen in Barcelona that there is still a lot of work ahead of us. So, other than having achieved my best result so far this season, I have taken with me a lot of motivation to work even harder with our engineers to improve the car further.”
Nico Rosberg has echoed his team-mate’s comments and hopes to improve on his poor Spanish performance to shine around his home circuit.
“The Monaco Grand Prix is my home race and it’s always an enjoyable weekend.” Rosberg said. “Formula 1 brings a real atmosphere to my home town and it’s very special to have all of my family and friends there to support me over the weekend. Living so close to the track is helpful too!”
“After a rewarding first four races, Barcelona was disappointing, so we will hope to see an improvement for Monaco and we will work hard to understand our issues from last weekend.
“Monaco is a completely different circuit with its own unique challenges and characteristics so it will be interesting to see how the car goes there. I had a good race last year, qualifying and finishing in sixth place, so it would be nice to go a few places better this time.”
