Car upgrades boost Mercedes hopes for Formula 1 season

Mercedes believe they have closed the gap to Formula 1's pace-setters Red Bull and Ferrari after fitting their final pre-season upgrade in testing.

Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of the winter at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Friday and team boss Ross Brawn said it was "quite encouraging".

"We've definitely moved forward," Brawn told BBC Sport, "whether it's enough we won't know until Melbourne."

The season starts with the Australian Grand Prix on 27 March.

Schumacher's lap of one minute 21.268 seconds beat Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 0.346secs at the end of Friday morning's test session in Spain.

A statement from the Italian team, with whom Schumacher won five consecutive world titles, called their former driver's pace "impressive".

Another Mercedes source was more bullish than Brawn, saying he thought only a Red Bull could beat that lap time.

Red Bull are generally believed to have the edge on the field on qualifying pace, with Ferrari next in line.

But Ferrari are considered to be neck-and-neck with Red Bull over a race distance.

Brawn added: "I think it does mean a step forward. I don't believe one or two of the other teams have shown their full hand yet, but it's certainly a lot more respectable."

He said the specification of the car when it set that time was "fairly representative of qualifying but we can go further".

Mercedes have brought a raft of updated parts to this test.

On Friday, a new front wing, different brake ducts and turning vanes were added to the new diffuser and exhaust system which had been fitted earlier in the week.

Brawn said: "They all seem to be working. The front wings, as with every other team, are quite a complex area as they affect quite a lot of the dynamics of the car, and we've got two different front wings at the moment.

"I think the structure of the package, the bodywork, the exhaust, the floor, the brake ducts have all looked very good.

"The front wing we're still playing with to determine which of the three we prefer, it might be down to drivers."
from bbc sport