Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn doesn’t believe there is a performance gap between Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg in a race situation. In fact he is of the opinion that the seven-time world champion may be quicker, but fails to understand the Pirelli tyres as well as his teammate.
“He’s [Schumacher] the same or even quicker in the fast corners,” Brawn told the Guardian. “Nico just seems to have more of an intuitive ability to get the most out of the tyres on one lap.”
That fact is proven by the pairs qualifying record in 2011, with Rosberg outclassing Schumacher 16-3, though the 43-year-old managed to claw some of that back in the races, beating his compatriot seven times and finishing fourth in Canada, whilst Rosberg’s highest finish was fifth.
“In the races, where it’s a more consistent process, there’s nothing to tell between the two of them,” added Brawn. “There are some races where Nico’s dominant and some where Michael’s very strong.”
The problem for Schumacher is understanding the tyres, especially how to get the maximum performance over a single lap in qualifying.
“I don’t know if he will find the difference in qualifying, because Nico is very special in those circumstances, one of the best I’ve seen. At the moment Michael hasn’t understood how he can get that.
“Now there’s only one tyre out there, it’s the same for everybody, and he’s got to work out how he’s going to get that performance from it.”
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