Marussia driver Timo Glock has admitted that it is a "shame" that the Russian team is facing delays with their new car, after the backmarkers confirmed that their new MR01 car would not be launched until the third and final pre-season test.
Glock, who has raced for the team since they entered Formula One in 2010 as Virgin Racing, faces a long delay before he can put the team's new car through its paces.
The team confirmed this week that the new MR01 would only be ready to hit the track for the final pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya in early March.
Instead, the team will skip the first pre-season test at Jerez entirely, and run their old 2011 car at the second test in Barcelona for rookie signing Charles Pic.
And the German driver admitted on Friday that it was not the ideal situation for the team, given that they now faced just four days on track to ready the car for the season-opener.
"It's a shame we are getting the new car late and therefore only a short preparation [for 2012] is possible," Glock was quoted as saying by the DPA news agency in Germany.
But he added that he was still feeling "positive" about the new season, as the squad searches for their first point since joining the sport.
"I am positive about 2012. Of course, our goal is to keep developing progressively," he explained.
Glock also suggested that his countryman Michael Schumacher would hit back in the 2012 season, after the seven-time champion endured a disappointing first two years of his F1 comeback.
"You can't underestimate him in any way," he was quoted as saying by the German Sky Sports platform regarding Schumacher, "He is highly motivated and still someone who you always have to take into consideration."
But he suggested unsurprisingly that Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel would remain the driver to beat in the coming season.
"What [Vettel] did in the past two years was phenomenal," he gushed about the new two-time world champion, "In terms of consistency, he will be hard to beat."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
