Mercedes' Norbert Haug says that the pace the team showed in China is genuine, but that whether it can reproduce it in the future is down to its ability to get the best out of the car at every race.
After a disappointing start to the season, Nico Rosberg delivered an improved showing in China, leading for a good portion of the race and challenging for a top three finish before eventually crossing the line fifth. Haug said that it was a true reflection of the W02's potential, but that as it had been difficult to set up in previous races there were no guarantees that the car would always deliver that pace.
"I honestly cannot promise you that we will do the same thing in Turkey," Haug told Autosport. "But the most important thing is to find the key to unlock the speed. The speed is there. The performance in China was genuine."
Haug said that the improvement in performance was clear to see when based against Mercedes' showing in Malaysia, and had come about due to a change in approach.
"I would have been happier if China would have been the first race, obviously. Saying that, the China track is not a night and day difference from Malaysia. There are a lot of similarities - and straight line performance accounts for a similar amount at both tracks.
But we now have a better understanding of the car. Ross sat together with the guys and the engineers, and we changed the approach to the weekend. For example, you can destroy your tyres easily on a Friday when you are on a heavy fuel load - but if you have a good balanced car then you can afford to have a heavy fuel. It has given us some confidence."
Haug also said the rear wing issues - which had plagued the team and cost Michael Schumacher a place in Q3 during qualifying in China - had been resolved.
"We had problems with the rear wing flap, but mainly we have sorted them out. We have a different system, but it is a clever system if it works - and we made it work in China."
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