Ross Brawn has openly recognised that the 2011 MGP-W02 is off the pace of the front-runners Ferrari and Red Bull.
In an interview with the BBC’s Radio 5 Live, the Mercedes team principal conceded that the outfit needed to find a second before the season opener in Australia on March 27th if it’s to challenge at the front.
“We’re about a second off where we want to be, which is at the front, so we’ve got to find a second in the upgrade which we think we can do,” said Brawn.
“But you never know what others will do – we’ve set out our plan, we’ll know at Melbourne if it’s right.”
Meanwhile, after enjoying massive success with Benetton, Ferrari and most recently Brawn GP, the 56-year-old admitted it was times like these that inspire him and the team to do better.
“It’s often these periods when you get most motivation – when you’ve been there, you don’t want to let it go, that’s what drives you the hardest, when you’ve got challenges to face,” he added.
“We’re all intensely competitive and we get more motivated when we’re not achieving what we want to achieve.”
