Post-Race Round Up: Michael Schumacher’s Malaysian GP

Malaysia was another trick and treat for Mercedes - or rather, treat then trick. Lightning pace in qualifying which falls apart during the race seems the way 2012 is unfolding for the German team. Tyre degredation? Aerodynamics? One thing that Michael Schumacher knows for sure is that the team are getting there, slowly but surely.

After only just managing to grasp a single point, Michael spoke to the Formel 1 team on RTL:

"Ich war schon durch, keine Ahnung wieso, weshalb, warum - Grosjean hat mich dann vorne berührt, ich habe mich gedreht, bei den Konditionen ist es ja schnell rum. Ich habe dann viele Positionen eingebüßt. Die Umstände waren schwierig, ich habe versucht das Beste daraus zu machen."

He explained that the unfortunate contact with Romain Grosjean was entirely responsible for losing many positions in the opening laps of the race. However, he stresses that although the cicumstances were difficult, he did infact made the most of the situation.

"From where I started the race, it's a real shame to grab just one point at the end today and of course I would have wished for a better finish for our team," a disappointed Michael told the media scrum.

The German also found time to speak to the German tabloid, Bild, about Mercedes' prograss: "Clearly we have made progress but at the moment we can't be expected to fight for victory." He went on to say, "We are a second behind. Last year it was two [seconds]."

Michael took some time out of his hectic post-race schedule to update his fans via his official website:

"Wenn man sich anschaut, von wo aus ich in das Rennen gestartet bin, ist es natürlich eine Schande, gerade mal einen Punkt zu holen. Klar hätte ich mir für die Jungs ein besseres Ende gewünscht, gerade nach der harten Arbeit, die sie in dieses Rennen gesteckt hatten. Aber als ich gleich nach dem Start hinten berührt wurde und sich mein Auto dadurch drehte, war mein Nachmittag entschieden. Während des ersten Teils des Rennens habe ich eigentlich hauptsächlich versucht auf der Strecke zu bleiben, denn man konnte rein gar nichts sehen. Daher war es auch die richtige Entscheidung das Rennen zu unterbrechen. Nach dem Neustart war die Pace auch gar nicht mal so schlecht, nur war das eben bei vielen anderen Teams ebenfalls der Fall, daher war es unmöglich, Plätze gut zu machen. Wir müssen eindeutig noch viele Hausarbeiten machen, um die Pace vom Qualifying ins Rennen zu retten, und ich bin mir sicher, dass die Jungs schon schwer über Lösungen brüten. Aber so etwas kann nicht von einem Rennen zum anderen geschehen, es wird Zeit brauchen; und diese Zeit müssen wir diesem Prozess auch geben. Es bleibt immerhin Fakt, dass wir uns verbessert haben, und mit diesem Wissen kann ich nun nach Hause fliegen und mich auf die Kämpfe der kommenden Rennen freuen."

"If you look from where I started the race, it is obviously a shame just to get just one point. I would have liked a better ending for the boys, especially after the hard work they had put into this race. But when I was touched immediately after the start, my car spun backwards and thus decided my afternoon. During the first part of the race I really tried to stay on the track because I could see absolutely nothing. It was the right decision for the race to be interrupted. After restarting, the pace was not too bad, but that was just the same as many other teams, so it was impossible to make up positions. We must clearly do a lot of homework to save the pace of qualifying during the race, and I am sure that the guys are trying really hard to find a solution, but such things can not happen from one race to another, it will take time, and we have to allow them time to find the solutions. It is nevertheless a fact that we have improved, and with this knowledge I can now go home and look forward to the battles of the coming races."

For those of you who do not watch the Sky coverage (or just want to watch it again), here is a feature Mercedes did with British presenter, Georgie Thompson. Both Michael and Nico Rosberg discuss the impeccable level of competition this season.


To finish off the round up in a rather similar fashion to Sebastian's, MIG Bank have released their latest commercial which stars none other than Mr Schumacher.

Posted on 27 Mar 2012 by Teagan