Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice president Norbert Haug doesn't expect any miracles at Silverstone next week. The German remembers Hamilton's fabulous victory at Silverstone last year when the Briton finished one minute ahead of the rest but the 2009 British Grand Prix the team is not in a position to win says Haug. "Silverstone is a great track with a unique layout," said Haug. "We have fond memories of this traditional circuit with Lewis's superb victory in the rain, more than a minute ahead of the second finisher last year, certainly being the most memorable moment. One year later, however, we will not be in a position to win. Since the beginning of this season we are in a catching up process. This is because we have not yet managed to get the best technical package out of the new rules in contrast to what we achieved with the old regulations in previous years when we built a winning car which we fought for the world championship with and won it.
"Nevertheless, everybody in the team is highly motivated to further reduce our gap to the top – particularly on fast circuits. We are currently experiencing tough times, but this is not new for us: after a year without victories in 2006 we missed our target to win the title by one point in 2007 and then, a year after, we clinched the world championship with Lewis in 2008. We all work in a calm, focused and concentrated way to get our job done. And we will manage to do so – but certainly not overnight."
[Editor's Note: Meanwhile the little Brawn GP team using the same Mercedes engines is blowing the doors off McLaren……proving you don't need a massive budget to have very good F1 cars that the fans will love…..hence why Max Mosley is telling the FOTA teams who don't like his budget caps starting in 2010 to go pound sand.]