Current spec set-up can beat chasing upgrades reckons Brawn

[John S]

Is constant upgrading clouding the real potential in a car?           
Ross seems to think it might and is likely to initiate earlier winter roll out of 2012 chassis to give more time to work on what they have got.   

Mercedes GP and other F1 teams are set to look at a different approach to the winter development season, according to Ross Brawn, Mercedes Benz team principle. Brawn has expressed a concern that the chosen path of late upgrades his team decided to pursue has left it with a delay in understanding the way the cars systems operate sufficiently, and harmed its chances in the opening rounds of the season. He said:

"If you look at it last year, in the last five races we changed nothing with our car but we went faster. So there is a lot of time in cars in just understanding what they respond to, and how you set them up. Perhaps we will reflect back on our approach over the winter of turning up quite late with what was a definitive car, because perhaps we just did not understand, with so little time, the best ways of getting it to work

"Now we are seeing the best ways of getting it to work. Nothing dramatic has changed, we just have thought about the set-up and thought about the things we should prioritise. And that is what we did in China."

His thoughts may well be echoed by other teams that have struggled in the first races, Force India being a point in question.

UpdateF1.com, April 20.

[Jericoke]

Lack of in season testing isn't really a new excuse any more.