Earlier in the season the gap to Rosberg was around a couple of tenths, and sometimes Michael was ahead, but over the past few races it seems to be getting worse and worse. Over half a second isn't uncommon at the moment, and while Michael might still be having fun driving the car he surely can't see that as acceptable.
I'm not sure what the problem is. I think the weight distribution of the car is 'wrong' (or not what Michael is used for), but this is just a guess. When he was at Ferrari I think most of the weight was at the front of the car, and maybe after driving those cars for 10 years he's finding it hard to adjust to something different. But even if that is the problem it still doesn't really explain the performance difference - Rosberg is clearly finding some pace in the car, and driving around problems (or adapting to a car inbalance) was always one of Michael's strengths.
If the Mercedes was originally designed to suit Button's driving style then that might explain something, but I can't see Michael driving for the rest of season if his performance compared to his team mate doesn't improve. Watching him get overtaken so easily by Sutil and Vettel in Silverstone was awful - he just didn't seem to defend properly, like he had already given up.
I think the plan is to get the 2011 car designed to suit his driving style, and hopefully be fighting for wins again, but right now that seems a long way off.
Let's see how things go in Germany...
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)