Michael Schumacher is looking on the bright side, even though the best qualifying effort of his F1 comeback washed away on Sunday. The seven time world champion qualified his Mercedes in the top three at Sepang, but the tyre-eating W03 could deliver him only a single point. "On no other car does the rubber dissolve so quickly," read a report in Germany's Bild newspaper.
Schumacher, however, is upbeat. "We are a second behind. Last year it was two (seconds)," he is quoted as saying. "Clearly we have made progress but at the moment we can't be expected to fight for victory."
It would also be premature to draw up the 2012 pecking-order based on Malaysia, after the heavy rain left Ferrari and Sauber drivers as the unlikely occupants of the podium's top steps. "Today was quite peculiar," Red Bull's Christian Horner told AFP news agency, "because if you look at it Sergio Perez was the quickest car on track. He was catching a Ferrari -- and pulling away from a McLaren," he exclaimed. "It's difficult to draw too much out of the first couple of races."
Former veteran engineer Joan Villadelprat agrees that Sunday at Sepang was not a representative result, particularly for the otherwise struggling winner Ferrari. "Fernando Alonso won with a car that is really below the pace of McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and probably - as we saw at the end - Sauber as well," he wrote in El Pais newspaper. (GMM)
Schumacher: "Mercedes made progress, but not ready for victory"
- Published on 27 Mar 2012 16:42
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- By: Rob Veenstra
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
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Driver profile
- Team Aston Martin
- Points 631
- Podiums 9
- Grand Prix 204
- Country ES
- Date of b. Jul 29 1981 (45)
- Place of b. Oviedo, ES
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.71 m
- 188,111 comments on Aston Martin
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- Team name Sauber
- Base - Switzerland
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Felipe Massa 8
- Marcus Ericsson 9
- Nico Hülkenberg 11
- Felipe Nasr 12
- Esteban Gutierrez 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Felipe Massa 12
- Kamui Kobayashi 14
- Sergio Perez 15
- Charles Leclerc 16
- Kamui Kobayashi 16
- Sergio Perez 17
- Kimi Räikkönen 17
- Esteban Gutierrez 21
- Kamui Kobayashi 23
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- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Antonio Giovinazzi 36
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- Pascal Wehrlein 94
- Adrian Sutil 99
- 115,816 comments on Sauber
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