By sessions
August 2 2012

With only the last half of the 2012 season left the Silver Arrows are facing an uphill battle.

According to team information everything has improved and all that is needed is a way to find more pace. Our car is reliable. We have capable drivers; we’ve hired the proper personnel in areas where improvement was needed.

All that is dandy, but Mercedes fans see little evidence that things are going to turn around by the time the break is over and containers are being unloaded in preparation for Spa. Meanwhile, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari are pulling out all the plugs to battle each other.  Renault has done the same in hopes of a late season surge taking on all three of them.

Where does that leave Mercedes ?  If the break doesn’t find some solutions the outcome will be disastrous. Ross and his boys could end defending themselves against the likes of Sauber. That means in constructers terms finishing two places lower than last season. That kind of end performance would be dreadful for one of the world’s most protégés car manufacturers, where expenditures over F1 have already proven to be a moot point.

Then it comes down to the Michael Schumacher situation. Is this a case of the tail wagging the dog ? It seems decisions on his return have been put off until October. That delay gives him the time required to see if the team and his personal status has improved or if the team’s performances continues to wane. If the later occurs he smiles and walks off into the sunset saying unfortunately the car was never competitive. Which, isn’t that far from truth.