Nico Rosberg: "We know that the car is fast from the last test in Barcelona, so now we have to work on proving that potential" © Getty Images
Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes will spring a surprise at the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix as the team looks to recover from its double retirement at the opening round in Australia.
Both cars dropped out of last week's race with crash damage, but the car also failed to live up to expectations on Friday and Saturday after a number of technical problems. Mercedes looked quick in pre-season testing at Barcelona and Rosberg is confident it can deliver on its promise at Sepang next weekend.
"We had a tough weekend in Australia but the team has worked hard and we are confident that the car will be running reliably in Malaysia," he said. "Melbourne is a unique circuit and we know that we will have a much better understanding of our level of performance after the next races. I think we can surprise people next Sunday. We know that the car is fast from the last test in Barcelona, so now we have to work on proving that potential."
Michael Schumacher also warned against drawing too many conclusions from Mercedes' opening race weekend.
"There is absolutely no doubt we want to do better than in the opening race, which was a disappointment for all of us," Schumacher said. "We clearly see that as a challenge and it is much too early to write us off. Everybody in the team remains positive and is in a fighting mood. So I expect a better weekend for us to come; a weekend we can build on."
Team principal Ross Brawn said the main focus since Australia had been on ironing out the technical problems.
"We endured a difficult weekend at the first race of the season, despite having reasonable expectations after completing a successful testing programme in Barcelona," he admitted. "We suffered a number of problems which resulted in a far from optimum car for qualifying and the race, and then were unlucky to suffer a disappointing double retirement for Michael and Nico.
"Our priority since Melbourne has been to regroup back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth, to review the weekend in detail, and to establish the best way to achieve the full potential of the car from Malaysia onwards. How we respond to the disappointment of Melbourne, and the challenges we faced, will be a true measure of our team."
Credit: ESPN F1 (en.espnf1.com)
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