Mercedes GP MGP W01

[marcush.]

interestingly ,Brawn speaks of the range of adjustability of the weight distribution
as one of the things they try to improve.

I could imagine ballast placement is nothing of a fixed thing
during the season and it is well possible that the teams reposition weight according to track demands.I would do so, if I had the opportunity.

with the increased wheelbase(2 inches) they gain half a percent of freedom in weight distribution (?) ,which is not going to be the huge step necessary considering they lack half a second per lap minimum.

0,5 percent is the equal of 3 kilogrammes weight shifted from one axle to the other....I wonder just how much ballast they carry if they have no freedom to shift 3 kilos or better yet see no possibility to find 3 kilos to remove in the front..

[WhiteBlue]

Mercedes to increase W01 wheelbase http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/83112

old news: viewtopic.php?p=163344#p163344

[ggajic]

What I`m wondering / regarding weight distribution and overall car weight at the start of race - how much is Mercedes engine efficient compared to others? When Ross Brawn put Mercedes engines into 2009. Honda chassis he was quite faster due to fact that Mercedes engine consumes less fuel for same power output then competitors. This year it is even more important if we know that cars start with full tanks. I`m asking this, because it also makes sense that Schumacher had to pay attention not to run out of fuel before China race ended - which would be even more embarrassing then to have at least one point. And I also suppose that since he was engaged in many battles where fuel/air mixture should require more fuel - he simply might have to chose strategy just to end race..

[dren]

I don't know for sure, but I am assuming the computer systems in the car monitor how much fuel is burned and adjust power output if needed to make sure the cars don't run out of fuel. I think the MotoGP bikes have this, so I would assume the F1 cars do too.

[marcush.]

What I don´t understand is :
if I have a weight distribution problem that hurts my tyre usage and balance ...why not carry a few extra kilos to cure the balance issue and get rid of the unwanted handling cues of the car?
Of course adding say 10 kilos to the car is hurting absolute performance yes . but still you could have a car that is workable if not ultimate fast and let the guys chip away on weight reduction programme ...

a quick calculation reveals that the cars use around 2.5kilos of fuel per lap and the average time loss perlap should be under 1 tenth of a second.
so you could trade in 5 kilos of excess weight for 2tenth lost in ultimate potential.

If the car was really only lacking with weight distribution probs at least this way around the machine would perform in balance over the distance and not fade as it does currently..
If one comes in and states ,what if the problem is not 5 to 10 kilos but 20 ?
then i´d answer the 2 inches they are targeting for Barca will be no more than a drop of water on a hot stone...
hopefuly the Brawn statement is not something aimed at the board..

[raymondu999]

Let's take 2 tenths though. That's over 60-odd laps. That's 12 seconds. It could mean maybe 4, say 5 places nowadays?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

hopefuly the Brawn statement is not something aimed at the board..

What statement?

[marcush.]

hopefuly the Brawn statement is not something aimed at the board..

What statement?

"The problem is not actually the wheelbase per se, it is the weight distribution," Brawn said about the motivation for the change. "We got the weight distribution wrong.

[TheRMVR]

You know what I think is sad? People talking about how Schumacher should leave if he doesn't improve in Barcelona. That is first of all F1-fan unworthy and second of all deeply pathetic.

We're in one of the greatest, most exciting seasons maybe of all time and some of those anti-Schumacher people just need to fill every topic about how terrible he is. Now I'm not a fan of the guy but for gods and your own sake just let him get on with it.

Since when is Schumacher a type like Raikkonen who just gets in the car and is quickest? Isn't Schumacher the teambuilder, the developper? Besides that he races next to a guy who's been on the up for the last 3 years and is at the top of his game.

The sad thing about it is that Schumacher doesn't enjoy his return. He returned because he just loves racing, and thanks to all of the negative talk he walks around the pitlane with a frown on his forehead. That negative talk just makes an early retirement more likely.

Why don't we just enjoy this great F1 season and give him a chance to really enjoy his comeback, he then might stay for another two years. Wouldn't that be great, if he gets his act together to see Rosberg, Alsonso, Button, Hamilton, Vettel and Schumacher battle for the championship?

As I said before, I'm not a fan of the guy but seeing him struggle should make every real F1 fan feel sad, not because he's not winning but because a great driver should join one of the greatest battles.

[Pierce89]

You know what I think is sad? People talking about how Schumacher should leave if he doesn't improve in Barcelona. That is first of all F1-fan unworthy and second of all deeply pathetic.

We're in one of the greatest, most exciting seasons maybe of all time and some of those anti-Schumacher people just need to fill every topic about how terrible he is. Now I'm not a fan of the guy but for gods and your own sake just let him get on with it.

Since when is Schumacher a type like Raikkonen who just gets in the car and is quickest? Isn't Schumacher the teambuilder, the developper? Besides that he races next to a guy who's been on the up for the last 3 years and is at the top of his game.

The sad thing about it is that Schumacher doesn't enjoy his return. He returned because he just loves racing, and thanks to all of the negative talk he walks around the pitlane with a frown on his forehead. That negative talk just makes an early retirement more likely.

Why don't we just enjoy this great F1 season and give him a chance to really enjoy his comeback, he then might stay for another two years. Wouldn't that be great, if he gets his act together to see Rosberg, Alsonso, Button, Hamilton, Vettel and Schumacher battle for the championship?

As I said before, I'm not a fan of the guy but seeing him struggle should make every real F1 fan feel sad, not because he's not winning but because a great driver should join one of the greatest battles.

Shumacher was one the greatest, no doubt, but is he still that good? China was the first time I've started to think he really might not ever be back to the old Shumi again. I really don't believe it's just a matter of the car "suiting" him. If he gets back to Shumi of old it will have to be through personal improvement,

[strad]

Schumacher was one the greatest, no doubt, but is he still that good?

The question is: Was he ever that good? Was it all down to cheating and electronic skulduggery?

[outer_bongolia]

The question is: Was he ever that good? Was it all down to cheating and electronic skulduggery?

[-X
You can explain one, may be two with that. 7 would require something else such as being a great driver.

Note that I had disliked Schumi and his methods on the track as much as anyone, but your comment definitely lacks objectivity so much that even I had to comment on this.

[TheRMVR]

Schumacher was one the greatest, no doubt, but is he still that good?

The question is: Was he ever that good? Was it all down to cheating and electronic skulduggery?

Pathetic comment.

[TheRMVR]

You know what I think is sad? People talking about how Schumacher should leave if he doesn't improve in Barcelona. That is first of all F1-fan unworthy and second of all deeply pathetic.

We're in one of the greatest, most exciting seasons maybe of all time and some of those anti-Schumacher people just need to fill every topic about how terrible he is. Now I'm not a fan of the guy but for gods and your own sake just let him get on with it.

Since when is Schumacher a type like Raikkonen who just gets in the car and is quickest? Isn't Schumacher the teambuilder, the developper? Besides that he races next to a guy who's been on the up for the last 3 years and is at the top of his game.

The sad thing about it is that Schumacher doesn't enjoy his return. He returned because he just loves racing, and thanks to all of the negative talk he walks around the pitlane with a frown on his forehead. That negative talk just makes an early retirement more likely.

Why don't we just enjoy this great F1 season and give him a chance to really enjoy his comeback, he then might stay for another two years. Wouldn't that be great, if he gets his act together to see Rosberg, Alsonso, Button, Hamilton, Vettel and Schumacher battle for the championship?

As I said before, I'm not a fan of the guy but seeing him struggle should make every real F1 fan feel sad, not because he's not winning but because a great driver should join one of the greatest battles.

Shumacher was one the greatest, no doubt, but is he still that good? China was the first time I've started to think he really might not ever be back to the old Shumi again. I really don't believe it's just a matter of the car "suiting" him. If he gets back to Shumi of old it will have to be through personal improvement,

Why quoting my comment if you don't bother reading it?
As I said in the comment above, wasn't Schumacher known for his teambuilding skills? Critisizing him in this stage of the championship is just useless. He was on the back of Rosberg in Bahrein, according to Haug he could've won Australia if not for the first corner, and he had an engine failure in Malaysia. The only race where he really disappointed was China. So that's that then? A 7 time world champion who makes his comeback after 3 years has some bad luck and one bad race, can't drive a car anymore?

There was a time I'd be happy to say bad things about him after a terrible race but saying what people are saying after 4 races is nothing more then getting back at him after years of dominance.

[Afterburner]

What I don´t understand is :
if I have a weight distribution problem that hurts my tyre usage and balance ...why not carry a few extra kilos to cure the balance issue and get rid of the unwanted handling cues of the car?
Of course adding say 10 kilos to the car is hurting absolute performance yes . but still you could have a car that is workable if not ultimate fast and let the guys chip away on weight reduction programme ...

a quick calculation reveals that the cars use around 2.5kilos of fuel per lap and the average time loss perlap should be under 1 tenth of a second.
so you could trade in 5 kilos of excess weight for 2tenth lost in ultimate potential.

If the car was really only lacking with weight distribution probs at least this way around the machine would perform in balance over the distance and not fade as it does currently..
If one comes in and states ,what if the problem is not 5 to 10 kilos but 20 ?
then i´d answer the 2 inches they are targeting for Barca will be no more than a drop of water on a hot stone...
hopefuly the Brawn statement is not something aimed at the board..

Those extra KG may give them that perfect weight distribution but then will hurt them on overall performance (tyre wear, fuel consumption, etc) so it wouldn't make huge difference, i'm sayng this but maybe they are already carrying extra weight...