Three races into his much-anticipated comeback season and Michael Schumacher has scored just nine points from a possible 75. Not only that, the seven-time champion has been out-qualified and out-raced all the way by young Mercedes GP team mate, Nico Rosberg.It may not be what the pundits had predicted, nor surely what Schumacher had expected, but the 41-year-old German insists all is going to plan and that he and the team are improving all the time, as they head to Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
“Admittedly the last two races have not been very fortunate for me but I am very much aware of the reasons for it,” said the German, who was an innocent victim in Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button’s first-turn clash in Australia and who then retired with a wheel-nut problem in Malaysia.
“I know how things go in F1 and if you look into the detail of the two races, I think everything is still going according to plan. You can only improve step-by-step and I am confident that we are achieving this."
Schumacher endured mixed fortunes in his previous three F1 outings in Shanghai, finishing 12th in the inaugural 2004 race, spinning out in 2005 and then winning for Ferrari in 2006. Now he is looking forward to returning to the venue with his new team.
"The enthusiasm for Mercedes-Benz and the support of the fans is very big in China so we have an attractive race ahead of us in Shanghai,” he said. “I am confident that the fans will not leave the race disappointed. We looked quite reasonable in Malaysia at the last race and maybe things will play into our hands again in Shanghai. I am looking forward to the race and fully enjoying the competition again.”
Schumacher lies tenth in the drivers’ championship, with Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi one point ahead and one point behind him respectively. Rosberg is fifth on 35 points.
Source:Formula1.com
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