Mercedes praise new car after win

The brand new C-Class had picked up few points in the first two rounds of the season, but all four cars finished in the top six on Sunday as Mika Hakkinen took the first win for the new machine.

"After Hockenheim people said the new car would be hopeless, but I knew there would be a turnaround," said Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug.

"Our car has been strong from the start of the season, it just hasn't had the results. It's had the pace to win, we just needed to get the best out of it."

Hakkinen agreed that the car has been fast since winter testing, and he believes that there is more to come.

"The car is fantastic, but it still has great potential," he said. "We were confident after the winter, so the early results were disappointing.

"But we have had three pole positions, and I feel we have made a lot of progress with this car on the race weekends."

Mercedes do have a driver leading the championship after the first three races, but it is reigning F3 Euro Series champion Paul di Resta in one of their two-year-old cars.