Ross Brawn has warned Mercedes against making more big changes to the team that could result in a performance dip. It was believed McLaren's 'gardening leave' technical director Paddy Lowe was set to replace Brawn as the Brackley based team's boss in 2014.
And, following the recent departure of Norbert Haug and the arrival at Mercedes of new shareholders Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff, it has been rumoured that further staff changes at the team's UK headquarters could now follow. Brawn, however, warned that more upheaval could actually hurt the team. "You must always look to improve ... without damaging what you have, which is very easy to do. It's a very delicate evolution," he is quoted by Sporting Life.
Back-to-back 2013 pole sitter Mercedes has produced a better car this year than its predecessor, off the back of major changes to the engineering lineup 12 months ago.
But Brawn warned that more changes now could actually result in a step backwards. "Changes were made back then which were painful at the time, and were part of the reason why we had a poor second half to last season," he said. "We have now a very motivated group of people, and we're starting to put the things in place they need. You can always look to add to it and tune it to improve, but you mustn't damage what you already have," he added.
Like most teams, Mercedes will unveil a package of improvements next weekend in Barcelona, the first European race of 2013 following the initial 'flyaway' period.
Brawn said no one should expect the changes to result in immediate wins. "We've two drivers who have taken the equipment and done what they have (pole position) on the last two Saturdays," he is quoted by the Sun newspaper. "But I don't think we have the equipment yet to be the strongest in the race." (GMM)
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