Michael Schumacher has admitted Mercedes W03 is unlikely to be completely at home around the Circuit de Catalunya at next week's GP.
Circuit de Catalunya's fast sweeps not expected to suit Mercedes
Michael Schumacher has admitted the Circuit de Catalunya may not completely suit Mercedes' W03 next week, although the German and team-mate Nico Rosberg feel the team nonetheless head into next week's Grand Prix on the back of solid progress at Mugello.
Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn acknowledged to
Sky Sports F1 during the Bahrain GP weekend that the W03 was currently "not so good in the high-speed stuff" in comparison to its stronger performance in lower-speed sections.
Like Mugello, Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya features several high-speed corners and is the traditional acid test of a Formula 1 car's aerodynamic package. Schumacher says Mercedes future development path looks promising, but hints that Spain may not be the team's strongest grand prix of the season.
"The positive thing about the test was that we could really concentrate on the developments we were aiming to work on," said seven-time Champion, who has finished inside the top six on all 17 occasions he has finished the race at Barcelona.
"This should give us a good basis for further developments, even if maybe not for the next race to come.
"Barcelona is a track we have driven extensively on, and this is why we know that its characteristics do not exactly play fully into our hands.
"But then, we will definitely go there and try our best and at the same time keep on working for the things to come."
Although the grid completed two tests at Barcelona during pre-season, Rosberg is expecting things to be very different more than two months on in race conditions. The German, however, is confident Mercedes head into next weekend with a better understanding of how to fully exploit Pirelli's tricky 2012 tyres.
"I am really looking forward to next weekend and racing in Europe again," he said.
"It's quite unique to come to a track where we have done so many laps in winter testing, however the race weekend will be a completely different challenge.
"The test in Mugello this week was very positive for us, and I believe we will arrive in Barcelona with a much better understanding of the tyres and how we need to set our car up.
"Despite the familiarity of the track, there will still be a lot of work for us to do, and it should be a good challenge."
Brawn, meanwhile, added: The team had a good week in Italy for the test this week where we were able to work both on challenges that affected us during the initial races of the season, and evaluate a number of new developments planned for the forthcoming races.
"I feel confident that we are continuing to make progress, and we will of course be working hard to continue that trend."
