Mercedes GP MGP W01

[marcush.]

could it be Nico has to stay with the W01 and Michael will use the W01L ?
maybe after all they may run the same setups but need different things from their car...

[manchild]

Schuey - "Ich bin das Problem.“

http://www.express.de/sport/motorsport/ ... index.html



*not my work, taken from express.de

[ggajic]

Who ever made this picture is obviously an jealous and mean person. .... Now back on the topic - if car is fastest when setup to understeer, I am wondering how McLaren solved this issue when they are in similar position - having two drivers with opposite preferences? Does that mean that McLaren has far more flexible (an better car)?
Oh btw. to all who hate Michael, just a little reminder - it was Mercedes that paid 125000 pounds in 1991. to Eddie Jordan to have Michael instead of Bertrand Gashot. I think that whatever anyone thinks or say - he is doing this as gratitude to Mercedes.

[ggajic]

If I remember correctly ,the Bennettons had front bite galore to an extend that everyone else stated it was undrivable on the limit.

when Schumacher came to ferrari he lost all this and struggled to dominate until Goodyear was pursuaded to produce a wider front tire (as was already produced by Bridgestone) Schumacher dominance came with Bridgestone supplying Ferrari....

As far as I can remember in 1998. Ferrari and McLaren were almost on the same level of performance except at the last two races when championship was decided. Despite the fact that there were two tire suppliers and that Goodyear was departing from F1 it turned out that Mercedes engine in McLaren was dominant element in 1998. championship - they used Berilium to make same parts of engine making it significantly lighter and stronger.

[ringo]

I don't blame the car. He may perform better with an improved car and be a little more competitive, but if he is truly the best, and very adaptable, he should not be struggling at all. If it's one thing with drivers who are supposed to be the best, they should be able to drive any car faster than any teammate they are paired with. All becuase they are simply fast.
Shumi's problem is age and endurance.
I say he should finish this year, but give nick a chance.
Hopefully the W01 gets that new nose and diffuser it desperately needs. It's clear the rear end has no grip, so a new floor and diffuser should be in order for Barcelona.

[marcush.]

Peter Sauber still has the cheque for Eddie Jordan in his office i read only recently....so the mercedes payment thing maybe a bit folklore..
as for the best driver who can drive anything..Schumacher never claimed this for himself ,as far as I know .
In fact Frentzen was faster than Schumacher in a Group C car. And Schumacher was useless in DTM .

back on topic ,it was clearly stated by the team the W01 has weight distribution issues and in the hands of schumacher it lacks traction out of slow corners.
The changes to the car could very well help one and hurt the other driver even though they stated to use the same setup -which they use possibly only because they have no choice -

[ggajic]

At least it is good to know that Mercedes is not writing Schumacher off and that Haug is admitting that they have problem with the car:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83086

I hope that three weeks break will give them enough time to resolve issues...

[mx_tifoso]

What else would you expect them to say about their prized possession? That he is slow and it's not entirely the cars fault? As is evident by the other drivers success thus far.

Schumacher is pulling a 'Kovalainen at McLaren'.

Although I also hope for this car to improve as it means that one more team will be at the front, making the season that much more exciting. We'll see in Barcelona if the team has made any of the expected changes/improvements.

[Giblet]

Before the season, I had hoped this would happen, but that I am actually seeing it, and barely believing it, I feel kind of bad for him.

Barichello's words are looking truer all the time. This will only hurt his reputation, coming back that is.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Ringo

You say "I dont blame the car" then end on "It's clear the rear end has no grip, so a new floor and diffuser should be in order for Barcelona."

If Schumacher's car looked undriveable out of slow corners whereas Rosberg's did not in China, could it simply be Schumacher's prefered set up is not comaptible with the W01?
I have already written war and peace on over vs understeer and that certain cars favour certain characteristics. Can we all agree the W01 does not suit Schumacher as well as it does Rosberg, because of said Chassis characteristics?

And Barrichello was decimated by Schumacher, of course he may harbour just an ounce of resentment. Dont buy it....

[marcush.]

Ringo

You say "I dont blame the car" then end on "It's clear the rear end has no grip, so a new floor and diffuser should be in order for Barcelona."

If Schumacher's car looked undriveable out of slow corners whereas Rosberg's did not in China, could it simply be Schumacher's prefered set up is not comaptible with the W01?
I have already written war and peace on over vs understeer and that certain cars favour certain characteristics. Can we all agree the W01 does not suit Schumacher as well as it does Rosberg, because of said Chassis characteristics?

And Barrichello was decimated by Schumacher, of course he may harbour just an ounce of resentment. Dont buy it....

i do remember very well these debates about over and understeery cars.We basically were crucified for stating that basic charcateristics were NOT entirely setup related but designed into a car and it was possible to design a car for a drivers preference or against him.
The Barcelona update will tell ,I can´t wait...
as i made a fool of myself supporting USGP when everything was already going down the drain i will for once resist to make predictions

[autogyro]

I may be way off the mark but I believe that Schumaker is not puting in enough work. Ross should give him a kick up the a--.
I do not see a major problem with his car, the other one is fine and he has shown he can get the sector times, IMO over confident and not prepared enough.

[wrcsti]

Im surprised theres not as much talk of mercs revolutionizing f-duct.

[Sods2]

so far rosberg has been fast..but AFAIK, i havent seen rosberg overtake anybody since the first race( not including the start). even in china he did not overtake anybody..hamilton is the one who passed him.

i reckon that the W01 is --- at overtaking compared to the other cars.

[ArchAngel]

To be fair, Rosberg has managed to put his car closer to the front, with those cars ahead carrying a significant edge in pace thereby giving him less "opportunities" for overtaking. Schumacher on the other hand, hasn't quite gotten his qualifying act together. Add to that an opening lap misfortune and a few not-so-good judgment calls & timing on tyre stops that set him back further behind than normal. All these have given him an "opportunity" to overtake cars in front over which he's got better race pace.

Still, I agree that the W01 in Michael's hands does seem to be more aerodynamically "vulnerable" when closely following other cars, making overtaking much harder work than usual.