Mercedes GP MGP W01

[marcush.]

what is Mercedes biggest shortcoming ?

We were told it is the weight distribution ...with big effort they changed ..and the car still is not showing a change in its basic characteristic

They introduced an elaborate airbox solution to help drag...but the car is slow on straights.

do they know their problem really ?

[MichaelW]

Nick Heidfeld says they keep pushing. There will be another update for Silverstone and bigger for Hockenheim. Some day they have to get it right [-o<

[PlatinumZealot]

The engineers just muddled it up IMO.

[autogyro]

After the diffuser gains on the Brawn last year, I just dont believe Ross latched on to the new direction that Newey went with on suspension and streamlining.
The others seem to have managed to change direction earlier which is probably because of the time Merc had to spend sorting the balance issue.
Now Ross has the extra problem of next years car looming.

[marcush.]

In my view they seem to lack incredibly in terms of problem analysis and concentrating their effort on the right areas of development.

they changed wheelbase ....a big effort ..but did this help their speed ?
they have a special airbox treatment ..but it is not obvious what the advantage this may carry their trap speeds are not that special.
they do have tyre issues ,especially on low fuel levels.Nothing new since last year it seems under certain circumstances they have no activity response in their portfolio to account for this.Rosberg has already spoken out to this in Canada when
stating the boffins were always waiting for the conditions to come to them instead of adapting the car to the conditions....
I remember this being apparently the case last year as well .
what about their simulator ? Is this as sophisticated as Macs? or RedBulls? or even Wirth technologies?
Maybe Mercedes is not even half of wht we think they are and it is not lack of understanding but lack of recources they are fighting?

[autogyro]

Its a damn shame IMO.
The potential is enormous.

[aral]

Mercedes have a problem, and that problem is that they do not have the experts required to push the car forward. Many posters liken Brawn to Newey, as designers, but Brawn is more akin to Horner, a team principal. Brawn has to poach some top engineers and designers from other teams, if there is to be any improvement. But with Merc reducing their financial assistance, it might be difficult!

[WhiteBlue]

Maybe Mercedes is not even half of wht we think they are and it is not lack of understanding but lack of recources they are fighting?

+1

Merc apparently do not have a simulator as the top teams have. Their resources certainly are well behind.

[ringo]

It's not a matter of resources. The car is just handicaped from birth.
No matter how much money you can throw at it, the WO1 will still be fundamentally flawed in the monocoque, which cannot change by the regulations. Therefore they are stuck with a pig. No amount of polishing and make up can change that.
Brawn should just come out and say the car is a deadend and cannot be repaired.

[Morteza]

The problem is they don't know what the problem is!!! It's most probable that they lack resources and knowledge. I wonder what they're going to do about it

[MichaelW]

Basically the car is fast (in certain circumstances). We saw last year, in the same team, how much difference it can make if one driver gets the tyres in the right window (Rubens) and the other not (Jenson). The question is if MGP achieve a breakthrough in the department of tyre usage this year. As they had similar problems last year and those are still there now I would tend to think they are really a bit clueless atm.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I think that the funding from Mercedes come to late in 2009 and the results speak for them selves. I am not a MS fan but I think they should look at this as a 3 year program and stop putting him down every 5 minutes. I think that next year will be alot better for them! Martin Brundle + David Coulthards negative comments make me laugh, as between them they didnt win a WDC and yet they find it all so easy to see where MS is going wrong. Nobs

Although the execution differs , the sentinment is 100% spot on!
And coulthard should also remember, Mercedes also pay his DTM wages.

Eddie Jordan is a bloody joke, ever since he started slagging Mclaren off for using KERS in 2009 in around ooooo April he became a laughung stock.
He really wants sacking because his sentiments reflect those of uneducated sensationalist headliner journos . GET RID!
Get Someone who KNOWS the sport, Frentzen, Herbert, Irvine all on the front line, take this clown of my screen!

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

It's not a matter of resources. The car is just handicaped from birth.
No matter how much money you can throw at it, the WO1 will still be fundamentally flawed in the monocoque, which cannot change by the regulations. Therefore they are stuck with a pig. No amount of polishing and make up can change that.
Brawn should just come out and say the car is a deadend and cannot be repaired.

Ringo there is no intrinsic problem. Hence why the head scratching.....

[marcush.]

you could say
Virgin is a flawed car,HRT,Lotus the Sauber.
But to call the Merc a pig is off the mark .they should not have said this and this is our problem ,when this is solved we start winning.
in fact they have doenall that work and still the problem is there at times .as before....
or to put it in different words:give that very car to Mclaren and they will mix it with Redbull constantly...? I fear it would happen.

[xpensive]

Could it possibly be a matter of complacency from last years success, wouldn't be the first time that happens?