Mercedes will be bringing a new chassis of their 2010 challenger to the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks’ time and seven time world champion Michael Schumacher will be the one racing it. As per the official line, it is the test chassis used by the team during pre-season testing and will be brought in place of the one Schumacher has used in the first four races. There is no word on a replacement for Nico Rosberg and one can assume that is more to do with the respective form the two drivers have shown.

Michael Schumacher is increasingly getting hackled by the media and fans over whether it was indeed a good choice to come back into racing full time. In all four races this season he has been well beaten by the young Rosberg and that is infact now a record of sorts for him, one which he couldn’t really have wanted.

The buzz though is about the new chassis. It is expected to have a lot of aerodynamic upgrades which will be the case with most teams in Spain. However there is one more aspect that Mercedes are working upon and that is increasing the wheel base of the car in a bid to redistribute the weight of the car. It is believed that is where the problem lies with the W01 and that is something reported during the winter testing as well. The car seems to have a definite under-steer and that was most visible in Michael’s hand during the wet race in Shanghai.

During winter testing, the team tried balancing out the weight problem by using different ballast solutions and it seemed to work as they progressed towards the final testing sessions. However they are still missing in terms of straight line speed and the F-duct that they reportedly tested in the Chinese GP Friday practice sessions might be able to help out there. To expect too much though would be, well, too much for Schumacher and he would be happy enough to trump his team mate beginning Barcelona.

The other school of thought as to why Schumacher might be struggling is pertaining to the tyres. He has been out of competitive racing for three years and now when he has come back, the grooved tyres have been replaced by slicks. Over the years Bridgestone has progressed in terms of its compounds in regards with getting heat into them. Despite the fact that he is a multiple champion he still has to go through a learning curve with the new rubber and that is not easy given that he is not getting any younger at 41.