The Mercedes drivers were left to rue what might have been today after the expected rain at Silverstone never materialised.
In the build-up to the race Michael Schumacher, who had qualified third, had stated that rain would be the best situation given that the demands of the high speed venue were not expected to favour the team in dry conditions.
That became evident as Michael began to drop back as the race went on, eventually finishing seventh after a late race pass on home favourite Lewis Hamilton.
“We achieved what was possible for us today, and we have to be satisfied with that. We were pretty competitive towards the end of the race, but overall we knew that the characteristics of this circuit wouldn’t suit us in normal conditions – we definitely could have done better in the wet. Even so, we managed to score a few points, which can be important for the team.”
“Our attention now turns to Hockenheim, our next home circuit, where things should look better in any case. I can only say to all motorsport fans that we are counting on your support. Like always in Germany, it will be a very special weekend, and we want to celebrate it together with them. So make sure you’re there in Hockenheim!”
Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg bemoaned a challenging weekend. The Chinese Grand Prix winner finished in a low key fifteenth position.
“The whole weekend just hasn’t gone to plan for me which is a bit unexpected and really disappointing. In the race today, I had a poor start and generally we just didn’t have the pace. Then a slow second pit stop held me up towards the end; so all in all, it really didn’t come together,” Rosberg said but warned that the team should be more competitive in Hockenheim.
“Now we need to work hard to improve the car for our next home race at Hockenheim in two weeks' time. Hockenheim is a completely different circuit to here which should suit our car better, and we will hope to put on a great show for all of our fans there.”
“We were the fourth best team today and that was reflected in Michael’s seventh place finish on the road. Clearly, our pace in the dry didn’t match our competitiveness yesterday in the wet, and we will have to take a good look at the data to find out why. Both drivers experienced graining on the option tyre this afternoon – Michael in his first stint, Nico in the final one – and that certainly compromised our performance at important parts of the race,” Ross Brawn said.
“Not a great result for us today after a good qualifying performance from Michael yesterday. We expected rain this afternoon and Michael’s car was not ideally balanced during the first half of the race,” Norbert Haug added.
