Mercedes GP W02

[Ferraripilot]

I think he means it's not the developed wing intended to 'go fast' with. Sort of how Ferrari and Mclaren and MB all have derivatives of last year's front wing. Clearly not something completely new.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I think he means it's not the developed wing intended to 'go fast' with. Sort of how Ferrari and Mclaren and MB all have derivatives of last year's front wing. Clearly not something completely new.

Correct. Brawn himself said during the extended BBC interview that the rear wing was used in Bahrain tests last year.
The wing is a modified W01 wing. We will see the finalised version at the last test according to AMuS.

[Ferraripilot]

I think he means it's not the developed wing intended to 'go fast' with. Sort of how Ferrari and Mclaren and MB all have derivatives of last year's front wing. Clearly not something completely new.

Correct. Brawn himself said during the extended BBC interview that the rear wing was used in Bahrain tests last year.
The wing is a modified W01 wing. We will see the finalised version at the last test according to AMuS.

I fully expect to see real barge-boards, a triplane style front wing, a completely new rear wing, and possibly a different exhaust. I still can't believe they are testing with those teenee tiny barge-boards they currently have.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

The tri plane front wing is a dead cert for me, maybe even with a hint of flex
The exhaust will be interesting as that is an area where the W02 has the top deck of their diffuser blown. In addition the beam wing is also in a position to blown.
Mercedes will need to crunch the numbers and weigh up wether it is plausible.

In other words(Not being that technically minded), how much do Mercedes compromise(if there is a compromise to be made at all) to go blown floor?

[LegendaryM]

second pic by bar555

I think they brought in the 2 element front wing as it worked well with the front wing actuator, and now that that is banned, i think they might switch back to a triple element front wing

[NewtonMeter]

To express dissapointment at this stage is pretty frivolous.

After 3 days testing, Ferrari Red Bull etc dont have a clue where they are in relation to the other. Mercedes pointedly said they werent after headline times. Systems integration is what they needed to do and they accomplished it.
Schumacher got decent laps in on the final day after all the systems where patched up.

"Patched up" is a word Brawn used. Now they can go away knowing what to do next.

They have last years rear wing on too, in case anyone noticed...

I don't know JET. Right off the bat, you know we are on the same side here, but I disagree to an extent.

Ross Brawn himself said:

We're not right at the sharp end but there's a long way to go to the first race

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsp ... 386502.stm

Which would imply that he's got an idea of where they are in relation to the competition, wouldn't you say?

I can't speak for everyone, but you have to admit, quotes like that is a little disappointing? Especially with the lead time they had. It's not the times that bother me at all. It's quotes like that from the team, like they're trying to keep expectations in check...

[raymondu999]

I'm thinking there's probably a 6 second margin of error in each of the times, I'd say Mercedes are still just about where everyone else is. Clueless, that is.

[marcush.]

in two years they went from zero to hero and backt,so they know how it feels to have a dog or a car that is not ruling the block..
Brawn has expressed that this is not a BGP 001 and after last years car had not enough to challenge for wins after a lot of claims and hype in the winter it is only natural to be cautious with statements.
We still see last years tailenders HRT and Virgin within almost just a second of the quickest times...if anything that tells us the others are doing whatever they do but NO low fuel runs .So with a 4second variance in lap time coming from the fuelload alone ,how can you judge the performance.In long runs you can get a bit of a picture as one can see the influence of the fuelload over laps covered ,but still you will not savely know how much is left in the tank after the run is completed which still leaves a zwo or two and a half seconds of uncertainty...

[xpensive]

You know what, when looking at the W02 cockpit, sidepods and airbox, I wonder if the car was designed to fit Norbert?

As they used to say, "If it looks right, it is right", the W02 looks like nothing of the kind.

Besides, mindlessly following RBR rear supension-wise is not a good sign either.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

@ Newtonmeter

"not at the sharp end" is indicative of Mercedes W02 not being the finished article.
He did go further to say that "I can do the calculations of what we will have and, it looks encouraging." Again suggesting Mercedes W02 still has some way to go before being considered race ready.

@Xpensive
First off welome back! So the W02 doesnt look good? Come on X...it looks lovely! I respect that it is objective but the vast majority of opinion is positive regards the look of the W02.


It "looks" quick. But then there is no science behind it. the RB6 looked slow, but it wasnt!

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

which still leaves a zwo or two and a half seconds of uncertainty...

I think that the variation is worse Marcush. The reason Im optimistic is Schumacher did his best lap of 1:14.3 on a long stint towards the end of the stint(lap 8 of 9 I think).
The Pirelli tyre goes off at lap 5 according to Hamilton, Schumacher and Kubica.

Kubica set his lap time on lap 3 of a 5 lap stint.

Take away all the fuel load difference and the tyres alone could be worth 2 seconds from optimal condition to worn. This is in addition to any fuel load difference. So the margins are huge, 6 seconds possibly

I remain optimisitic as only 2 other teams demonstrated the same consistency as Mercedes over the longer runs, Red Bull and Ferrari. Renault appeared to be looking for faster times to gauge wear on tyres, and where the drop off point is.

I will be looking at times at the last test, for now I will just see who has consistency over a number of laps as that is porbably more indicative of who has what than a headline time.

[myurr]

Comparing fastest lap times is always going to be fraught with error. However, and I say this whilst not being a Mercedes or Schumacher fan, I think the long runs of the W02 have been positive.

Can't remember if it was this thread or another but there was a sequence of 17 or so lap times posted for both Schumacher and Kubica. Obviously they could have been on different tyres and / or fuel loads, but to me it's a better comparison than just the headline times. On average Schumacher was about 0.5 seconds a lap quicker over the run, with an 8 second gap after 17 laps.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Comparing fastest lap times is always going to be fraught with error. However, and I say this whilst not being a Mercedes or Schumacher fan, I think the long runs of the W02 have been positive.

Can't remember if it was this thread or another but there was a sequence of 17 or so lap times posted for both Schumacher and Kubica. Obviously they could have been on different tyres and / or fuel loads, but to me it's a better comparison than just the headline times. On average Schumacher was about 0.5 seconds a lap quicker over the run, with an 8 second gap after 17 laps.

Thank you Myurr.

Do you have a source for Kubica's laptimes that day. All I can find is his 5 lap stint were he set the quickest time.

[xpensive]

RB and MS were known for running massively underweight while testing during their Ferrari days, all in order to get a psychological edge on the opposition. Word in the Valencia pitlane was that they were as much as 20 kg under the limit this time around, which should underline MGP's dire predicaments, as they were still 1.5 s behind Adrian Sutil's Force India.

[luca]

Thank you Myurr.

Do you have a source for Kubica's laptimes that day. All I can find is his 5 lap stint were he set the quickest time.

It should be this: http://www.msfree.gr/includes/livelaps.php?name=KUBICA