Fry: title not lost for Schumacher

Mercedes GP CEO Nick Fry insists that Michael Schumacher is still able to challenge for the 2010 title, despite being 75 points and the exact equivalent of three race wins off the Drivers' Championship lead following the first eight rounds of the season.

Halfway through next weekend's European Grand Prix, F1 will hit the half distance point for the 2010 campaign, with Schumacher having made his return in Bahrain three months ago.

However, despite being hit by a run of helpless misfortunes early in the season, critics have slammed 7-time Champion's latest Montreal performance.

Notably, ex team-mate turned BBC television pundit Martin Brundle labelled the Canadian Grand Prix as the German's 'worst ever' - an agreed feeling with on-screen colleague Eddie Jordan, whose team presented Schumacher with a first F1 drive in 1991. Despite the heavy criticism, though, Fry defends his driver.

"I'm surprised people have reached those conclusions," he told The Guardian on Wednesday. "He was in a good position until the puncture but, when something like that happens, you get out of sequence.

"We also put him on the Option (softer compound) tyre slightly earlier than we maybe should have done, otherwise he would have been able to defend better than he did, but certainly from inside the team we see things in a totally different perspective.

"We don't really see any significant difference in performance between Nico (Rosberg) and Michael - one is getting the breaks and the other isn't at the moment.

"In sport, what goes around comes around. For those who have a run of luck, that frequently comes to an end and the opposite happens. So we're very comfortable with Michael's performance and I can't see any reason why he won't come good. He continues to improve and he is going make a good job of it."

Asked if title chances are shelved for this year, Fry's response was clear: "Absolutely not. It's all part of the learning process. I think he, and we as a team, will continue to work hard this year and do the best we can. We still want to be in the top three. Red Bull and McLaren are fairly dominant but Ferrari have had a mixed season."

Source: GP Update

Deutsche Post joins Mercedes as sponsor

The Mercedes GP team has confirmed that it has signed a sponsorship deal with Deutsche Post, Europe's largest mail service company and the market leader for the German letter and parcel market.

Formerly in Formula 1 with Jordan - under subsidiary company DHL as well as with its parent company - plus having sponsored Timo Glock for much of the German's career, Deutsche Post is now an official partner of the reigning Champion.

The emblem of the world's largest logistics company, founded in 1995 and based in Bonn, will now been seen on the chassis and front wings of the cars driven by Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

"We are very pleased to welcome Deutsche Post to Mercedes GP and to feature the 'Post Horn' logo on our MGP W01 cars from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards," Mercedes GP CEO Nick Fry commented on Wednesday.

"The team has been very successful in attracting new partners over the past months and Deutsche Post is a very welcome addition. We look forward to developing our relationship further over the coming months."

Source: GP Update

Fry: Clear gap between Jense & Lewis

Mercedes MD Nick Fry has warned Jenson Button that there's a "clear gap" between himself and Lewis Hamilton that he needs to close very quickly.

Button made his debut for McLaren in Sunday's season opener in Bahrain, but he could only manage seventh place while Hamilton finished third.

The reigning World Champion admitted after the race that his team-mate did a "better job", but he wasn't too concerned.

"It's a fact that Lewis finished in front of me," he said. "He did a better job. I couldn't have done any more in the race," Button said.

Fry says Button has "got to work hard" if he wants to edge closer to his team-mate.

"There's clearly a gap that Jenson is going to have to close. It's absolutely self-evident," Fry told Reuters.

"I'm sure he'll be looking after this weekend at what he can do to close the gap to Lewis.

"Lewis does have 'home team advantage' at the moment but the longer Jenson stays with the team, the more that reason goes away," Fry added.

"He'll have to be looking at all the aspects of his own performance, not only how he drives but also the way he works with the team. Jenson will know all those things and he's got to work hard."

Source: Planet F1