Report: Mercedes boss says team must improve fast

BERLIN (AP) Daimler AG's chief executive says the Mercedes Formula One team must improve quickly but his company doesn't plan to increase its funding.

Mercedes, which is owned by Daimler, announced in September that Lewis Hamilton will join the team next season. He will replace seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who has managed only one podium finish since returning from retirement to join Mercedes in 2010. The team's other driver is Nico Rosberg.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche was quoted on Wednesday as telling the German weekly Die Zeit: "We certainly must become better quickly."

But he rejected talk of the company putting more money into the team. Zetsche said: "We do not plan to increase our budget."

Updated November 14, 2012