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Mercedes 0.5s off the pace - Haug

Norbert Haug: 'Much achieved, much still to do' © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
• Nico Rosberg
• |
• Michael Schumacher

• Teams:
• Mercedes

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug says his team is currently half a second off the front of the grid as it heads into the second half of the season.

Mercedes won its first race since its return at the Chinese Grand Prix this year, but has dropped off the pace of its rivals in recent races. The car appears to lack the pace of the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus and has also struggled with tyre degradation.

"The verdict on the first half of our season would be: 'much achieved, much still to do'," Haug said. "We have been the pace-setters at a number of race weekends and Nico [Rosberg] scored the first win for our new Silver Arrow works team in China, while Michael [Schumacher] set the fastest time in a prestigious qualifying session in Monaco and Nico then finished second in the race. Two races later, in Valencia, Michael also scored a podium finish.

"Our team has scored over one third more points than at the same time last season, in spite of Michael suffering a run of technical retirements. The last two races have shown that we currently lack around half a second a lap to the pace-setters. This is clear to all in the team and we'll be doing our maximum to develop the car further and close the gap."

Looking ahead to this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, Rosberg is cautiously optimistic of a stronger performance on the tight and twisting Hungaroring.

"The layout should suit our car but you just can't make predictions this year and you never know how it will work out over the weekend," he said. "Tyre wear will again be critical for the race so we will work hard to manage that properly. It would be nice if we can make a step forward and have a good weekend before the summer break."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.