MERCEDES GP PETRONAS drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher qualified in seventh and 11th places respectively at Albert Park in Melbourne today ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
SLS AMG and new C 63 AMG Estate on standby in the Formula 1 World Championship.
Ready for the starting event of the Formula 1 World Championship in Melbourne, Australia (25-27 March 2011), Mercedes-AMG is once again providing the Official F1™ Safety Car and the Official F1™ Medical Car. The task of the SLS AMG and the new C 63 AMG Estate is to ensure maximum safety in dangerous racing situations or following an accident. The SLS AMG has been used in Formula 1 since 2010. The C 63 AMG Estate is now entering its fourth season, but in 2011 it will appear in a new design with updated technology that includes the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed transmission. AMG has been continuously active in Formula 1 for 15 years.
The 2011 Formula One World Championship begins next weekend with Round One, the Australian Grand Prix, taking place in Melbourne on Sunday 27 March. Albert Park, a street circuit which uses the public roads surrounding the man-made lake south of Melbourne city centre, hosts one of the most atmospheric races on the calendar.
Michael Schumacher completed the four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS today. Michael’s programme over the day included aerodynamic evaluations, further race weekend preparation work and set-up development, particularly focusing on longer runs. Michael also continued his familiarisation with the KERS system. Michael completed 114 laps today, bringing the team’s total mileage for this test to 1988 kms.
Nico Rosberg continued the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team’s pre-season programme at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today on the third day of this week’s test.