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F1: Nico Rosberg to drive new Mercedes on first test day

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

Nico Rosberg is scheduled to give Mercedes' new 2011 car, the W02, its debut outing on the first day of the Valencia test next month.

"I am going first," said the 25-year-old German, who last year scored 70 points more than his famous teammate Michael Schumacher.

Speaking at the Fashion Week in Berlin, Nico Rosberg added that the pre-season test schedule has been devised to be "fair" to both him and Schumacher, even though getting the first run is "something special".

"It will be interesting to see how it (the W02) feels. You know pretty quickly how good it is going to be," the German is quoted by DPA agency.

Michael Schumacher, 42, will drive on day two.

Nico Rosberg continued: "It is probably unrealistic to go into the season saying we will win the championship, but we will succeed sooner or later. We are on the right track."

In Mercedes GP's first season after the re-branding of 2009 champions Brawn GP, the Brackley based team finished fourth overall.


Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 8 years experience as a car reviewer
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