Norbert Haug on Friday played down McLaren’s apparent dominance, but nonetheless expressed confidence for the remainder of the Italian grand prix weekend.
Fernando Alonso’s quickest time in the Friday afternoon practice session at the high speed circuit near Milan was more than a massive 1.3 seconds clear of the nearest Ferrari challenger.
Kimi Raikkonen, another tenth behind his Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa, ranked a distant ninth on the session timesheet after losing time in the second session with an hydraulic problem.
“We therefore don’t have much of a reference point on where we actually are,” said the Finn.
Haug, Mercedes-Benz’s competition director, admitted that the silver-clad team is “not suddenly one and a half seconds faster” than Ferrari, despite also dominating the Monza test here last week.
He told Premiere: “We had plenty of fuel on board; we were not doing any laps for show.
“Today however is only Friday and the challenge is to also be the fastest on Saturday and Sunday.”
Possibly referring to the ever-intensifying espionage saga involving the locally based Ferrari, Haug also observed that it would be a “dream” if McLaren won on Sunday.
“I could live with that result,” he added.
