Mercedes-Benz F1 team to challenge for the championship

Sebastian Vettel was crowned Formula one champion for the second year in a row after the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend.  But Mercedes GP Petronas have sent out a warning message that they will be working harder than ever to ensure they will be competing for a top four finish on a regular basis next season.

The teams motorsport boss Nobert Haug believes that the Mercedes-Benz car is not far behind Red Bull and McLaren and offered strong words of encouragement to his team.

"The last four circuits were on very, very different tracks - and we challenged the top three teams and finished three times in the top six," said Haug. "It shows that the trend goes in the right direction and I think the team expects more and more.

"Generally saying, we did not lose ground. There was a huge development race within the top teams, all the teams, but we basically did not lose out compared to where we started. So we could follow the rhythm by and large.

"If our basis [for 2012] is a better one - then maybe there are four top teams next season. Maybe there are eight cars challenging for victory. This is certainly our target."

If the Mercedes-Benz team can keep improving as they have done this season, there’s no reason why we might not see Michael Schumacher back on the podium and Mercedes-Benz putting in a very serious challenge for the constructor’s championship next season. 2012 promises to be a very exciting year for formula one.

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