F1: Brawn Upbeat About 2012 Mercedes Form

Formula 1

F1: Brawn Upbeat About 2012 Mercedes Form

Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn is eager to see where his team stacks up in the upcoming season...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted March 09, 2012 Balen (BEL)

Ross Brawn's Mercedes team isn't sold on the new Concorde Agreement. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn is confident that his team has made a big step since last season, and is thus in good shape heading to Melbourne.

The team has been stuck in fourth place for the past two years, but Brawn is clearly optimistic about prospects for the new W03.

“We are well-prepared, both at the factory and on track, as a result of our structured development and testing plan,” he said in a Melbourne preview. “And I am confident that we are in a good position. How this translates to our performance relative to the competition is, of course, the key question and it will be interesting to see how it all shapes out next weekend.

“My thanks to all of the team at Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and dedication over the winter months, and I hope we will be able to reward them with a strong season.”

Norbert Haug added: “Starting the third season with our Silver Arrows works team, we think we are better prepared than the two years before, which indicates that our learning process is heading in the right direction.

"The Mercedes F1 W03 has run reliably since its first run on Feb. 16, completed 4,450 km during preseason testing, and achieved an average daily testing mileage of 472 km – this equates to an average of more than one and a half Grand Prix distances during each of the nine test days.

“After testing, we know we have a solid basis to work from and a good platform for development. Understandably, there is much speculation about the pecking order of the new season, and finally we will get a first answer on Saturday afternoon during qualifying in Melbourne, when everybody has to put their cards on the table.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.