After all the pre-season hype, the Melbourne paddock banter about its clever F-duct system and a strong showing in qualifying, Mercedes failed to shine in last Sunday’s season opener.<\/p>\n
The situation has many paddock regulars confused as to just how good the new W03 really is.<\/p>\n
“Good question,” Michael Schumacher told Bild newspaper at an event this week in Malaysia.\u00a0 “We don’t know yet.”<\/p>\n
Agreed Finnish commentator and former F1 driver Mika Salo: “It’s going to be interesting.<\/p>\n
“Malaysia requires a lot more from a car aerodynamically than does Australia.<\/p>\n
“I am sure McLaren will still be at the front, but Red Bull and Mercedes will probably be closer.”<\/p>\n
So what happened to Mercedes’ early promise in Australia?<\/p>\n
“In the race we had some problems, especially with the tyres — they degraded too quickly,” revealed team boss Ross Brawn.<\/p>\n
But for Sepang, “We have an idea about how we can get it under control,” he added.<\/p>\n
If that is true, then Sir Jackie Stewart is looking forward to seeing “the old Michael Schumacher” for the first time since he initially retired in 2006.<\/p>\n
“He is driving well again,” the famous Scot told Kolner Express newspaper, “but so too is Nico Rosberg.<\/p>\n
“They have a much better car than last year, and Michael is finally showing what he is capable of.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know if that will be (good enough for) victories, but for sure we will see him again on the podium,” added Stewart.<\/p>\n
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