“In my opinion, we will not challenge for the podium in the first few races, but we will definitely show up afterwards,” said Haug in an interview with Sunday's Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung newspaper.
Neither Michael Schumacher nor Nico Rosberg made the greatest of impressions during the winter tests in February, with the former actually telling the media that he doesn't expect podium finishes with the W01 right away. He later turned his declarations around and said that the new data on the car revealed some further improvements as compared to his initial thoughts, but still the Mercedes GP challenger was closely behind the competition in Barcelona.
Team boss Ross Brawn came to assure the German fans that the team will actually surprise its rivals in Bahrain, via a brand new rear diffuser, but no one is really expecting the new part to turn the car into a race winner right away.
Until then, it seems that the rivalry between the two Mercedes GP teammates has already begun, with Schumacher's long time manager Willi Weber – replaced by Sabine Kehm recently – insisting that Schu must first beat Nico Rosberg and after that think of the title fight.
“The first thing you need to do as a racing driver is to get a grip on your teammate. For Michael in the first two or three races this could be difficult. But once everything is back to his liking, I really cannot see why Michael cannot beat him. Can, must,” said Weber, according to Der Taggespiegel.
On the other hand, Rosberg admitted that not all information about the W01 will be shared between the mechanics of the team – meaning with Schumacher's staff.
“What is important for the whole team will be disclosed. But when it comes to specific needs, the small details, there are some things you can keep for yourself,” said Rosberg for news magazine Focus.
Google News