Exclusive interview with Mercedes F1 chief

Pune: Michael Schumacher may be struggling to find form this year, however Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug believes the seven-time champion is still a force to reckon with. In an exclusive interview with IBNLive.com, Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug talks about the team’s performance so far and what he expects for the remaining races

The last couple of races, especially Rosberg's performance, must have been encouraging for the team...

Well, we were better than during the first two GPs, but still not good enough for where we want to be. We have to, and we will, improve further, but this takes time for a team that was completely re-structured one and a half years ago.

Does the lack of race pace compared to qualifying, concern you?

We are working on further improvements and I think we are heading in the right direction.

Speculation is rife about the future of Michael Schumacher with some former drivers suggesting he may retire. Is Michael still a force to reckon with?

Absolutely, he will succeed again. He has the speed, the talent and the willpower to do so.

How do you think Mercedes GP's design approach has been for the first four races? Could it have been more aggressive, maybe like Lotus Renault?

The third and fourth races saw the team start twice from the second row on the grid, and scoring two fifth place finishes. We will build on that.

What upgrades are expected for the coming races? How much of a performance difference will they make?

We have quite a few things in the pipeline, but Ross (Brawn) will hit me if I tell. So, (there’s) no chance that I can be specific.

How has Paul di Resta fared in his debut season?

Great. Paul is doing a very good job and I am sure he will continue to do so.

What is your opinion about DRS considering some have termed the overtaking superficial?

I think it was a good idea and works very well. Thanks to the new Pirelli tyres, the DRS and committed drivers, the races are more thrilling than ever before.

What do you think about the 2013 engine regulations? Are you in favour of using 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engines instead of the V8s?

These are the published rules. Changes will only be possible should the FIA and the team decide to do so.

Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2011: The bespoke Steinmetz Diamonds helmets for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button

It is a well-established custom of the luxury manufacturer Steinmetz Diamonds to create distinctive helmets for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, at each and every of the F1 grands prix held at Monte Carlo in the last years. The bespoke 'pieces of jewelry' feature diamond-engraved lettering - precisely, for pampering the name 'Lewis' in the case of the 2008 world F1 champion's helmet, which retains the beautiful yellow colour, in addition to the distinctive design of the top section, comprising two glitty dices; and for emphasizing the special message to Japan displayed on Jenson's helmet, that also features a flashy, high-tech looking, white and silver-painted exterior casing.

Check out more interesting photos after the jump!

F1 – Monaco Grand Prix Practice – Mercedes GP Petronas

Monaco Grand Prix Practice – Mercedes GP Petronas

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished today’s practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix around the streets of Monte Carlo in third and seventh places respectively.

• The team’s focus today was on set-up development and comparisons of the soft and super soft Pirelli tyre compounds

• Michael had a small accident going into turn one in the closing minutes of P1 which ended his session early

• Following excellent work from the team, he was able to complete 33 laps in P2

• Both drivers placed in the top ten in both sessions today; Nico completed 64 laps while Michael totalled 47 laps

Nico Rosberg
“It’s great to be on the track again here in Monaco. I felt very comfortable from the beginning and we did quite a good job on the set-up. It can be difficult here to find the right settings as you have to put a lot of things together such as brake balance and tyre degradation, but we had a decent day and I’m happy with our start into the weekend. The tyres are not as bad as we expected and the degradation will be quite low, so pole position will be a bit more important than I expected before today.”

Michael Schumacher
“Our gap to the front seems to be less here than in Barcelona. With my crash this morning, we had made a set-up change for the run and I locked up braking for turn one. After that, my decision to go down the escape road was too late, which is why I hit the barrier. The mechanics did a super job and the car this afternoon was just as quick as this morning. What Nico showed in terms of one-lap pace looks good, and our long runs were also quite reasonable.

Ross Brawn
“We had a productive day with lots of good work achieved. The team recovered extremely well from Michael’s incident this morning, and gave him a good car for the afternoon session. We worked on high and low fuels levels with the two tyre compounds, and the tyres seemed to hold up reasonably well, probably better than we expected, which will be taken into account for Sunday’s race. Overall, today was a good start to our Monaco weekend.”

Norbert Haug
“We had a productive first day here in Monaco with Nico and Michael posting good lap times compared to our competitors. Certainly we have made a much better start to the weekend than one week ago in Barcelona. Michael had a little off in the first session and the team did a great job to repair the car by shortly after the start of the afternoon session, so that Michael was still able to complete 33 laps. Our plan is to make another step on Saturday and hopefully we can qualify both cars in a good position for the race on Sunday.”

‘Mercedes Plan’ could be solution to conflict

A new compromise plan devised by Mercedes Benz could be the solution to the conflict between the FIA and FOTA, the teams’ organisation.

Today’s Times newspaper reports that Norbert Haug, vice president of Mercedes’ motorsport arm, has presented the plan to FOTA and hopes it will be agreed to by the FIA.

Haug’s plan would see teams spending a maximum of £100 million in 2010. This concession would be subject to them offering assistance to new teams, such as cheap parts and technical collaboration. In addition, the teams would have to commit to F1 until the end of 2012 and agree to the advent of a £40 million cap from 2011.

The plan’s strength lies in its theoretical pleasing of both parties. Ferrari should be reasonably happy to offer support to smaller teams, and would be thrilled to see the threat of two-tier rules disappear. The FIA should be pleased that the £40 million cap will come in only a year later than they proposed.

The weaknesses of the plan are that Ferrari are still unlikely to agree to a cap figure so low. Equally, the FIA is now legally bound to introduce the cap next year, and could face legal action from new entrants if the circumstances are changed now.

With the deadline for entries to the sport in 2010 expiring tomorrow, time is running out for the protagonists. Mercedes Benz’s plan is imperfect, but it may be the compromise fans have been crying out for in recent days.