2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[F1Krof]

russell q3 lap 1.30.340
https://streamable.com/dhd89z


car looks quite benign to me, just not fast enough in some sections. Slight lack of traction out of T10, otherwise nothing stands out to me in particular.

The worst part of this car is that it doesn't look bad, maybe apart from the last corner. This leaves one clueless where to find more time.

[zibby43]

The season is a write off. Toto said after the race that it was the worst day in Mercedes history.

In the opening stint, The Merc's were 1 second off the pace from lap 1-7. From lap 7-14 they were 2 seconds off the pace.

https://i.postimg.cc/vmhxxHBK/image.png

There is no upgrade in the world that's going to save them this year. RB don't even have to develop their car. Mercedes still might not even catch them at the end of the year.

Correct.

[astracrazy]

Time to see what Toto is made of.

He no longer leads a team built by Brawn that spend years in planning for a new regulation. They no longer have a big engine advantage and development curve after people left.

[Alex_Z]

The season is a write off. Toto said after the race that it was the worst day in Mercedes history.

In the opening stint, The Merc's were 1 second off the pace from lap 1-7. From lap 7-14 they were 2 seconds off the pace.

https://i.postimg.cc/vmhxxHBK/image.png

There is no upgrade in the world that's going to save them this year. RB don't even have to develop their car. Mercedes still might not even catch them at the end of the year.

This whole regulation cycle is a write off, they got it wrong 2 years in a row and with the budget cap its over for Mercedes until 2026. Best they can do is build a car that can notch a couple of wins à la Redbull 2014-2020. It's the RBR dominance era now and for the next 3 years. It's looking like it will be a far more dominant era as well

[Fer.Fan]

Good point

[Shrieker]

The worst part of this car is that it doesn't look bad, maybe apart from the last corner. This leaves one clueless where to find more time.

If this is to be believed, they have very poor traction, and maybe poor rotation as well.

[organic]

russell q3 lap 1.30.340
https://streamable.com/dhd89z


car looks quite benign to me, just not fast enough in some sections. Slight lack of traction out of T10, otherwise nothing stands out to me in particular.

The worst part of this car is that it doesn't look bad, maybe apart from the last corner. This leaves one clueless where to find more time.

When a car looks okay but isn't quick it usually just lacks downforce. From the telemetry i've seen and how Merc chewed their tyres I believe lack of downforce is their chief issue at the moment

[Spoutnik]

The traction on this car is so poor its amazing
Alonso was driving a car from another planet in S2 against Lewis

[AR3-GP]

Toto after the gp said that the W14 upgrade that they were bringing to imola was 3 tenths
he says that's not enough and now they need something radical



i think first thing they will start to change is the floor
and the sidepods will be the last
but i'm wondering if they will have enough to make new chassis or it was made modular since the beginning because they knew they would change philosophy

the midwing can easly be changed with something else and the entire sidepod entry

Floor and sidepod are inter-dependent. They have to be changed at the same time if that makes sense?

What I'm trying to say is that the sidepod supports flow structure and conditioning needed to make the floor aerodynamics work.

[Weachter78!]

Time to see what Toto is made of.

He no longer leads a team built by Brawn that spend years in planning for a new regulation. They no longer have a big engine advantage and development curve after people left.

I’ll bet on Toto leading the charge for a massive turnaround. Can’t put any type of time frame on it, dont think anyone reasonably can, but I wouldn’t bet against him. Yes, Brawn had Mercedes headed towards the top when Toto took over, but I’m basing my decision on Toto before Mercedes, on Toto’s perseverance and fight starting with his upbringing, his life full of hard work, in many different industry sectors. His back story is fascinating, I’ll take Toto righting the ship.

[F1Krof]

russell q3 lap 1.30.340
https://streamable.com/dhd89z


car looks quite benign to me, just not fast enough in some sections. Slight lack of traction out of T10, otherwise nothing stands out to me in particular.

The worst part of this car is that it doesn't look bad, maybe apart from the last corner. This leaves one clueless where to find more time.

When a car looks okay but isn't quick it usually just lacks downforce. From the telemetry i've seen and how Merc chewed their tyres I believe lack of downforce is their chief issue at the moment

Yep, seems balanced, but it is slow. It explains why they were chewing the tyres so much. Ferrari weren't that great either. Seems like the winning concept is the Red Bull's one.

[F1Krof]

The traction on this car is so poor its amazing
Alonso was driving a car from another planet in S2 against Lewis

Yep, it feels like watching a heavy boat.

[DGP123]

Sounded like said they can’t wait for the 0.3 Imola upgrade, he wants the radical option (which he didn’t reveal, but you presume it’s just copy RB)?

[Matt2725]

It does appear the Imola upgrade which supposedly was being brought forward to Baku I read somewhere might be getting thrown out.

Personally I'd write this season off as a bust and start again. Earliest they can probably hope to compete is mid-2024.

[zibby43]

Sounded like said they can’t wait for the 0.3 Imola upgrade, he wants the radical option (which he didn’t reveal)?

May as well not even waste money on fabricating that upgrade.

They either understand what RB/AM are doing, but chose not to pursue it because they believe their concept has more potential OR

. . . they do not understand what RB/AM are doing and have been forced to continue to try to develop their zero pod concept, which has continued to look like a pre-2022 spec car with some Frankenstein 2022+ parts.