Drivers not expecting another Brawn-like stunner

JEREZ, Spain - Top drivers are not expecting another Brawn-like phenomenon of the kind which stunned Formula One last year.

By (Reuters)

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Published: Tue 16 Feb 2010, 10:26 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 4:48 AM

Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren will be the forces to be reckoned with in 2010, they forecast on Tuesday.

Last year Brawn, which has become Mercedes, rose from the ashes of the departed Honda to conquer the constructors’ championship and help Jenson Button to the drivers’ title.

However, this year the new ‘big four’ look to be ahead of the rest.

‘I think McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull are the teams which we have to pay the most attention to,’ new Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso told Italy’s Sky TV ahead of the third official pre-season testing session starting in Jerez on Wednesday.

‘It’s impossible to choose one, we just hope none of the three are as competitive.’

Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, who has come out of retirement to race for Mercedes, is pleased with his team’s progress in testing so far.

‘I am fully convinced that we have a car that is able to fight for the championship,’ he told the official Formula 1 website (www.formula1.com).

‘Where we are exactly is hard to say. This is especially true for me as I don’t have the data from last year’s car,’ added the 41-year-old.

Fellow German Sebastian Vettel is hoping for drier weather this week than at last week’s Jerez test.

‘They are all more or less close together, within a couple of tenths, so ourselves, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes I think are pretty close,’ the Red Bull driver said.

‘I felt pretty happy in the car. The weather was too changeable, so we did a little bit of work, which went in the right direction, but there’s a lot more to come and I expect everyone to improve from where they are now.’


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