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Istanbul will show our true pace - Brawn

Ross Brawn is hoping the Mercedes will show its full potential in Turkey © Getty Images

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• Drivers:
• Ross Brawn
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• Nico Rosberg
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• Michael Schumacher

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Ross Brawn believes the Turkish Grand Prix will act as a true barometer of how well Mercedes' updates over the past two races have worked.

The team introduced a longer wheelbase and radical engine cover at the Spanish Grand Prix in an attempt to catch Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. But while the updates appeared to help Michael Schumacher, they did not have the desired effect on the car's overall performance. Reverting to the short wheelbase for the tight Monaco circuit saw an improvement in the car's relative pace, especially in Q2 in the hands of Nico Rosberg, but Brawn said he was withholding judgement until the next race in Istanbul.

"We've made some good progress with some of the changes we've made this weekend," Brawn is quoted by ITV. "I know Monaco is unusual, and I think we've got to wait until we get to Istanbul to see if they carry through.

"Obviously we weren't in great shape in Barcelona, and we weren't using the tyres properly. They are quite subtle in how you use them and in Barcelona we couldn't make them work properly. In Monaco we seemed to be getting the tyres working, so we've perhaps made a bit of a step change in our performance. It's all about getting the tyres to work properly, so if we can do that in Istanbul...

He added that developing the car was an ongoing learning process and that improvements would continue to be added to the W01.

"I wouldn't say we totally understand why we didn't perform as we wanted in Barcelona - we've still got a lot of analysis going on to think it through, and there will be some more changes for Istanbul," Brawn said. "My feeling is we're not there yet, but I think we've made some progress."

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