Brawn ain’t going no where
As we approach the end of the season, the two teams that interest me the most are Renault and Mercedes. Renault, because I thought they’d be in the gutter by now and are not and Mercedes, because I thought they’d be on cloud nine by now and are not.
Today, Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn offered up a little insight in their lack of performance to the Italian paper Gazzetta dello Sport that was carried by Autosport (Sorry I barely speak English, let along Italian) In the story he notes that after Honda’s departure in 2009 the team was left down in resources and had to design a car that was too conservative for the 2010 season. He also reckoned that next year will be different since everyone will be operating under the Resource Restriction Agreement.
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"At the beginning of 2009 we had to reduce staff, and this obviously had an impact on many sectors. When the time came to design the 2010 car, our design office wasn’t well organized. What came out of it is a scarcely ambitious car, in fact too conservative. But we couldn’t do otherwise, because resources were not sufficient. For 2011 we have a group of young engineers who want to show their worth, so we are ambitious again.
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"With the restrictions we had, in late 2009 we couldn’t chase the title and build a competitive car for this year at the same time. But from 2011, because of the cost reduction process, this will become the norm for everyone – even though I don’t believe that teams like Ferrari and McLaren will have to compromise too much.
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When asked if he was if he was on board for 2011, he responded:
"Yes, and I think Mercedes will be my last team.
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While all his answers are pretty straightforward (this is Ross Brawn we’re talking about) I think it shows definite commitment on his part and shows that he got the 2010 message loud and clear. It also makes me hope the car is fully realized in 2011 and Mercedes can show the big boys what they’re really made out of.
As always, only a fool bets against Ross Brawn. Let’s hope I’m right about him this time.
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