Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug conceded that rivals can now underestimate Mercedes after failing to meet expectations of the grid.
At the beginning of two consecutive seasons, Mercedes couldn’t manage to match the pace setting cars and rivals always hoped a better Mercedes would show up at some point.
“We knew we would be quick. I think all in all Ferrari and McLaren are not that far behind and you can never underestimate Mercedes,” had said World Champion Vettel after the first race of 2011 season. 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton also had stressed that although Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari are fighting for wins, one should not underestimate Mercedes.
“They have a very good racing history and they did in 2009 under the management of Ross Brown. So you can never know what these guys can do.”
However Norbert Haug told the media today that rivals now should leave them alone.
“That has been a huge pressure here and there on the team. When we listen to our rivals, we felt we had to do something not to make them wrong, but that’s it. We cannot hold it. Please leave us alone and underestimate Mercedes from now on. We just can not do it any more.
“We are already working on our 2012 car and the project is well underway. We hope we could again build a car not strong enough to win races but weak enough to be underestimated. That way, we can solely focus on ourselves and try to do better this time. I want to reiterate one more time: Our rivals are free to underestimate us.”