Mercedes impressed with V8's first performance

Norbert Haug believes Mercedes are well on their way to producing a competitive V8 engine after testing next year's powerplant for the first time this week at Silverstone. Pedro de la Rosa gave the new engine its debut at Silverstone. Mercedes' Motorsport Manager, Norbert Haug, was very pleased with the results.

All engine manufacturers are in the midst of major redesigns after world governing body the FIA announced 2.4-litre V8 engines would replace the 3-litre V10 units currently used next season.
Norbert Haug "We had an uneventful track debut with our new V8 engine. With Pedro de la Rosa at the wheel we gained first basic experiences with the new engine on a race circuit and we completed our programme as planned. The data we collected during over 400 test kilometres will be analysed at Mercedes-Benz in Brixworth and will help us to develop the engine further as planned. The premiere was okay and everything goes exactly according to the plan we have set for ourselves."

Pedro de la Rosa "The last two days of testing have gone well and we are on schedule with the development programme. There is obviously a big difference in power between the Mercedes-Benz V10 and the V8, and therefore I had to adjust my driving style. In between runs over the last couple of days, the engineers have been analysing the data and making changes to the car. It is positive that we were testing with the new engine without problems and long delays. During this test we have also been looking at the difference in vibration between the Mercedes-Benz V10 and V8 engines, however we didn't find anything we had not expected."

Other teams like Toyota and Ferrari had already tested their new V8 powerplant on track while Renault is developing its engine on the dyno. The French team however faces a tougher challenge as it is the only team that are not currently with a 90° V angle which is obliged in 2006.