Ross Brawn Says Team Not Living Up to Its Potential

Mercedes-AMGMercedes-Benz W03Germany, 2012 > 20127 photos
F1 team principal Ross Brawn has admitted that the team is not living up to its potential so far this season, and it is time to start performing better. He has produced a video interview answering questions about the team and the season. 

"I would assess our season so far as having a lot more promise and potential than the previous two years, but we haven't quite fulfilled that potential yet," said Brawn.

However, he is happy with the performance of the car. It has been one of the seven winners this season and took second in Monaco. 

Brawn went on to say that he thinks Michael Schumacher has a good chance of winning the European Grand Prix in Valencia this weekend. 

He knows that the lack of reliability from Schumacher's car has been very frustrating, and Brawn says that the team treats his car the same as Nico Rosberg's. Every mechanical problem has led to an improvement on the car. 

The Pirelli tires have been an "enigma," according to Brawn. The team is beginning to understand them but is still working on finding the solution. The tires have subtle limits that deteriorate quickly when you go beyond them. He calls the tires "the challenge of this year."

The biggest issue with the tires is temperature management. As the car runs down on fuel it weighs less and different corners put different loads on the individual tires. It is very complicated to keep them at peak temperature at all times. 

For Valencia, Brawn says the team has upgraded the car, and it should manage tires better. He admits that predictions are especially difficult though because of the tires. 

Source: Autosport