As David Coulthard commented on Mika Hakkinen’s return to racing, “a true racer never loses the speed, only the need to race,” this may be a statement that Mercedes Petronas’ Michael Schumacher can also use. That is, if the rumors are true that he is retiring after the next season.

In an interview with Autosport, a British magazine, he said, “ I need a little bit more time to see about myself and how we are heading, and some input to see if that is what I want or not.” This sparked the issue in the world wide web that he might be retiring after. Also, he didn’t renew his contract with Mercedes GP even after Nico Rosberg already signed a new one. He again commented, “You have to asses where you are and what needs to be done, and then to transform it. You would rather do this early than late, but we have to understand that we were later than we hoped to be”, he added, “The important thing is, are we on the right track? Did we take the right measures? I think yes, but it has to be proven in the future.”

Well, we really won’t know what’s the real deal until Schumacher says it clearly right? For now, we’re hoping for a better season, then after, maybe we will hear from him and until then we really couldn’t conclude.

Source: CarScoop

Michael Schumacher placed 5th and Nico Rosberg placed 6th, which is a great result for the two drivers. The top spot was grabbed by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vette

Truly, Mercedes GP Petronas team performed really well at the Indian GP at the Buddh International Circuit.

“I am obviously happy about the race today. We achieved the maximum that we could hope for, and as a team we maximised our potential. Fifth and sixth places are a great result for us. On top of that, my car was very nicely sorted for the race and very stable. At the start, everything worked out according to my strategy as I deliberately didn’t want to use KERS in the first two corners and save it for the long straight where I knew that I could make up some positions. In the second stint, I managed to maintain my tyres so I could stay out longer and that was enough for fifth place. What’s really important at the moment is that we keep pushing and trying to improve, and that is what we achieved today. To the organisers of the first Indian Grand Prix, I would like to send a big compliment; I’m sure that I am not the only one to say that this was a very positive debut, ” Schumacher said after the race. Rosberg has the same feelings when he said, “We can be happy with a good team result and that’s what the boys in the garage deserved. I’m also pleased to have gained one place on my grid position. However my strategy was not perfect today and I lost some time in the second pit stop which meant that I wasn’t able stay ahead of Michael. I had good pace at the end of the race and pushed very hard but it was impossible to catch him over the last laps. I’m confident that we can repeat this good result in the last two races. All in all, it has been a good Indian Grand Prix debut for us and I hope all the fans enjoyed the race. I’m looking forward to coming back next year.”

Source: Daimler

Now, the Mercedes-AMG support cars are given center stage in this video. On it, we see the C63 AMG estate that’s used as the medical car and the SLS AMG safety taking to the track at speed. And on this rare occasion, we not only get to see but hear them as well. And hearing them this way is a bit unnerving, because they sound like race cars, instead of the smooth, purring machines that we are more accustomed to when we see them on the street. If these loud exhausts are overwhelmed by the shriek of F1 cars on the telly, imagine how loud they are in real life!

In the Singapore GP, Safety Car deployments are featured at an average of 6.7 laps per race. The driver change gears twice more than in Spa, 71 times per lap or a total of 4331. And there are 26 braking events per lap, the same number as Monaco’s at eight corners below 100kph.

Here are what the stars of Mercedes Petronas say about the SG GP:

Nico Rosberg: “I’m really looking forward to the Singapore Grand Prix and it’s a circuit that I enjoy very much. I finished second at the first race held here in 2008 so I have some good memories from that weekend. Singapore is a fantastic city and I always try to spend some extra time here with friends after the race. The track itself is good fun to drive and a real challenge. The stop-start nature means you have to concentrate hard throughout the lap and it feels very narrow and enclosed, like a true street circuit. We’ve made a good step forward with the car in the last few races and I hope we can take advantage of that again next weekend in Singapore.”

Michael Schumacher: “I really enjoyed my first experience of Formula One night racing in Singapore last year and it was an interesting weekend to be working on such a different time schedule. Surprisingly, it worked out very well and somehow even fun to drive and have meetings in the middle of the night. The street circuit is good fun and quite challenging, and as an event for the fans, it is also fantastic as they can get so close to the cars around the city streets and see a real racing spectacle. We have enjoyed good results at the final two European races in Spa and Monza, and everyone will be working to continue the hard work and keep up the points finishes as we head to Asia for the flyaway races.”

One day in the life of Mercedes GP Petronas’ boss Ross Brawn, a letter came to him with one of the most touching story. A young man braved to ask for $57,000 from him so that he could have a high-tech artificial limb.

That young man is Matthew James. He is a fourteen year-old British who was born with a congenital defect which made him live without a limb for years. Although he was using an artificial limb already, the young man really wanted to be able to do more than closing and opening his ‘hand’. Being a teenager, he really wanted to move normally, like other kids his age.

Because of the letter, which touched the hearts of the F1 Team, they decided to partner with i-Limb Pules to create a customized and “advanced prosthetic limb” for James. The amazing invention had been fitted by James already and it really is a wonderful product.

The high-technology limb is equipped with motors which will allow him to grip, tie his shoe lace and pretty much do anything he wants. The ‘hand’ can move, as it can send signals that can be transmitted to a mini-computer in the palm, allowing reactions and messages to be sent so it can function as a normal hand.

“Matthew’s letter to the team was very touching, and of particular personal significance given my close relationship to Reading School, which both Matthew and I have attended. Looking closely at the i-LIMB™ Pulse, we realised how much our technologies in Formula One had in common with those used to create this cutting-edge prosthetic limb, and that we may be able to offer some synergies to Touch Bionics to assist their invaluable research. Meeting Matthew, and hearing firsthand how the new device would improve his quality of life, was a pleasure and I am delighted that our initial contact has now led to such a positive conclusion,” said Team Principal of Mercedes GP Petronas Ross Brawn.

In the middle of the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes GP was still in the thick of things, with both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher poised to finish in the points with a well-placed push. However, it was not meant to be. Red Bull dominated again, with Sebastian Vettel winning another race and Mark Webber finishing fourth.

McLaren Mercedes’ Jenson Button had as much as 14 seconds ahead of Vettel at some point earlier in the race, but when the safety car was brought in for the first time, it allowed the rest of the contenders to get close. Teammate Lewis Hamilton managed to keep his sixth-place finish despite having 20 seconds added to his final time because of causing a collision.

There was a tense moment when Schumi passed Rosberg on turn 6 around lap 32. Four laps later, Schumacher had to retire after a fire in the airbox caused his car to stop.

Lap 72 saw a yellow flag become a red flag, and the race was restarted after a major collision involving a bunch of cars, particularly the Renault of Vitaly Petrov, who was rushed to a hospital. Rosberg was at 12th place at the time of the restart, and managed to move up only one spot to finish 11th.

“I had a good start today,” said Rosberg. “And that’s the one positive thing that we can take from the race. After that, I thought that I would be able to push but unfortunately the rear tyres went off in the first stint which really cost me performance.”

Another race, a familiar result—Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel keeps winning, and he did the same at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix. Vettel held off a furious challenge from McLaren-Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to claim the top spot, while Jenson Button grabbed third place. Meanwhile, the Mercedes GP drivers took consecutive places with Michael Schumacher having an impressive outing at sixth and Nico Rosberg getting seventh.

Schumacher, starting at tenth position on his 272nd grand prix, was able to finish strong to take the sixth spot. This was a good way of silencing critics who were questioning whether the 42-year-old driver was still fit to compete. Incidentally, Schumacher is the sole active F1 driver that had been at the inaugural Spanish GP held at the Circuit de Catalunya back in 1991. He’s won this GP six times over his famed F1 career. Mercedes GP teammate Rosberg, on the other hand, was able to hold his starting position of seventh.

With the win, Vettel further solidified his lead on the drivers standings. His 118 points opened up a 41-point lead over second-placer Hamilton. Heidfeld is sixth among drivers at 26 points, while Schumi is tenth with 14 points so far.

Sometime after the race ended, stewards announced that Hamilton, Button, Webber, and Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari will be investigated for not slowing during a yellow flag situation. The McLarens were already given reprimands.

Mercedes GP has two drivers in the top 10 at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg placing seventh in qualifying and Schumacher finishing at tenth despite not running his MGP W02 in Q3.

Rosberg (1:22:599 in Q3) had 1:22:569 in Q2 but couldn’t improve his performance to get ahead. Meanwhile, Schumi decided not to go for a run in Q3 in order to save on soft tires, which meant he had to be out on the hard tires for the final 10-minute qualifying period.

At the pole to start the GP are the two Red Bull Racing cars, as Mark Webber snatched pole from teammate Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1:20:981 for Webber and 1:21:181 for Vettel.

McLaren-Mercedes had a great showing in qualfying as well, with Lewis Hamilton ending up at position 3 on the grid with 1:21:961 in Q3. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren teammate Jenson Button are at fourth and fifth spot, respectively.

To recap, McLaren-Mercedes currently trails Red Bull Racing in the constructors standings, 43 points behind at 105. Mercedes GP, on the other hand, is still a long ways off at fifth with a measly 26 points so far in the young 2011 season. Nico Rosberg has 20 points at ninth place in the drivers standings, and Schumi’s 6 points is good for eleventh place. We’ll update you on the race results as the Gran Premio de España Santander at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya kicks off and finishes in several hours.