Mercedes not out of the running yet

Ross Brawn

(GMM) Ross Brawn on Wednesday contradicted reports that Mercedes may already be out of the hunt for the 2010 world championship.

In the Australian press this week, Mark Webber said it is now just Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren who will fight one another for the title.

The 33-year-old said that going into this weekend in Shanghai, "clearly it's (down to) three teams already".

"Mercedes are doing ok but it's Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull who are the most consistent at the moment in terms of pace," added Webber.

But even though Michael Schumacher's performances have disappointed some, his teammate Nico Rosberg qualified on the front row and raced to the podium two weeks ago in Malaysia.

Schumacher is 26 points adrift his young German teammate, but Rosberg is a mere 4 points off the drivers' championship lead.

Their team boss Brawn told Auto Motor und Sport: "The title fight is far from decided."

It was raining and hailing in Shanghai on Wednesday, and the Briton commented: "With the new scoring system, just one race weekend can have a dramatic impact on the (championship) standings.

"Nico is extremely fast and has run very good races, especially in Malaysia. But with every weekend Michael is gaining more and more momentum.

"Both will get good results when we give them a car that matches their talents. Then they will be right at the front," added Brawn.