Schumacher’s car adapted, Vettel sure car problem resolved

Mercedes team members at the team’s Brackley base have been working hard since Bahrain to adapt the W01 car more to Michael Schumacher’s liking, according to Bild.

The German newspaper said seven time world champion Schumacher, who followed his teammate to sixth place on his return to F1 two weeks ago in Bahrain, does not enjoy the silver car’s tendency to understeer.

“We cannot build a new car, but we can work on it in the wind tunnel,” the 41-year-old is quoted as saying.

Swiss commentator Marc Surer said the former Ferrari driver will be doing “everything” to have the car adapted to “his wishes” as soon as possible.

“But until it is right, he must adapt his driving style,” he added.

Mercedes has admitted the car is not ready to win races, and Norbert Haug said: “The base is good and the team is working hard to achieve the next development steps.”

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel said on Tuesday he is confident his RB6 will be reliable in Melbourne, despite the spark plug issue that saw him drop from the lead to fourth place in Bahrain.

“We have analysed the problem and it should not happen again,” he told the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

© RIF|GMM