MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has rolled his sleeves up over the last few days in a bid to emerge from the slump severely damaging his season with the Brackley-based Mercedes F1 team.
Schumacher has been plagued with issues and retirements that have resulted in the seven-times champion scoring just two points from the opening seven races.
In the Canadian Grand Prix five days ago it was a sign of the times for the 43-year-old that he was forced to retire again with an unusual problem in that the DRS wing on his Mercedes was stuck in the open position due to a hydraulics fault.
Languishing 18th in the championship, with team-mate Nico Rosberg 65 points ahead of him, Schumacher is determined to put his woes behind him in next weekend’s European Grand Prix in Valencia.
“Montreal is forgotten and our entire focus is now on the race in Valencia,” said Schumacher.
“I am sure that everybody’s motivation is even stronger because the weekend in Canada didn’t go as well as we had hoped.
“Our motto in the last few days has been to roll our sleeves up and focus on the job in hand.
“Everybody in the team has taken that approach to heart, so we can travel to Valencia in an optimistic mood.”
Team principal Ross Brawn has already made it clear more has to be done to assist Schumacher, especially as his spate of retirements is proving a handicap in the constructors’ championship.
Brawn said: “The performance of our car and our tyre management were generally good in Canada, however our competitiveness was compromised by reliability problems and mistakes.
“This is a disappointment that is deeply felt by everyone in our team, and we have been working hard to ensure we understand the reasons and deal with them.
“Achieving zero-defect reliability is our highest priority.
“The opportunities available, if we can give both drivers a reliable car and a clean weekend, are clear.”