Mercedes GP W02

[LegendaryM]

A two element wing provides more downforce, but it takes a long time to optimise so it doesnt lose downforce during braking, turning etc. Considering mercedes have had it for 1.5 years you'd guess theyd have optimised it by now.

[WhiteBlue]

It would be supreme irony if Heidfeld in the Renault would beat Schumacher and Rosberg in the Mercedes in terms of more points. I can see this scenario becoming more realistic by the day.

[Ferraripilot]

Still a guessing game.

The W02 proved to be consistent at Valencia. In the Hands of Rosberg at Jerez it appears to be less consistent.

However, if he banged in those 2 times of 1:23.9 with full tanks, then the tyres will have fallen of a cliff as thats what it would do with that amount of fuel.
Every team will run their own race sim and it will be to measure at various phases of a gp run.

Some will be playing games.

At this moment I think Mercedes want the car to run reliably and consistantly before they go for any time flatout.

I hate to sound like some sort of MB fanboy, but I think that's really it. W02 goes out for a long run with 150-160kg of fuel, Nico bangs out a couple decent laps and then the tires die (due to huge fuel weight) and the lap times are killed. I think if Nico were more conservative on the first couple laps he would have had a more consistent long run.

[Ferraripilot]

A two element wing provides more downforce, but it takes a long time to optimise so it doesnt lose downforce during braking, turning etc. Considering mercedes have had it for 1.5 years you'd guess theyd have optimised it by now.

I am really wondering about the 2 element wing as well. Everyone has a triplane wing. I have to wonder how W02 reacts with a triplane and if perhaps it was never intended to ever use a triplane. The wing has to work with everything else on the car and perhaps this is what they were going for. No idea, but the wing, barge boards, and rear wing have always looked half-baked on W02 to me.

[Predator]

Hmm, Rosberg saying they expect to be slow because it's an interim car. I know they had problems with the rear wing today, so that's a huge chunk of lap time gone. Also gearbox issues. He seems to suggest that come Bahrain, the W02 will be a different beast altogether. I've got my fingers crossed for this year and will reserve judgment for the latter tests and Bahrain qualifying. At the moment, they just need to concentrate on reliability, then work on the speed, IMO. But both drivers have said they feel comfortable, so that's a step in the right direction. Hopefully the Pirellis will suit the characteristics of the W02.

(Check Autosport for more info).

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

It would be supreme irony if Heidfeld in the Renault would beat Schumacher and Rosberg in the Mercedes in terms of more points. I can see this scenario becoming more realistic by the day.

Going on what exactly?

The 4 days testing you have seen? I still cannot fathom who is where.

Around this time last year Mclaren were looking supreme. Then at the last Test Vettel did a GP sim that Heidfeld described as "scary", and then a day later Webber smashed in a laptime time to confirm that.

Before this they were looking 3rd best behind Ferrari and Mclaren, with Mercedes looking ok in 4th just behind. Well as it turns out the W01 was a full 1 second behind.
Its still to early to tell, and its not as if the W02 is the finished article yet either.
Brawn said the car would have changed "quite a bit" by the last test.
Lets see if that rings true.

Also what will the team learn by going full tanks so early on?
Quite a lot really.

New tyre manufacturer anyone? Tyre drop off, when to pit, what the tyres do if you dont change them and run extended stints, as we have already seen Mercedes do.

Finally if the margin for error is around 6 seconds, what can we tell from theses tests?

Edit: just read Rosbergs interview, and its not like he seems to fussed.
Either way it could still be an "earth car" disaster or a BGP001 triumph, early days.

[ringo]

Brawn promised them a new car come race 1 last year!
Not a dang thing changed on the car.

I'm a little nervous for this car and i'm not even a merc fan. The Honda ghost still lingers.

The car looks good and the weight distribution is fixed so hopefully there's no problem come Bahrain. There can't be much to get wrong with this car just some tweaking needed.

[Ferraripilot]

Brawn promised them a new car come race 1 last year!
Not a dang thing changed on the car.

I'm a little nervous for this car and i'm not even a merc fan. The Honda ghost still lingers.

The car looks good and the weight distribution is fixed so hopefully there's no problem come Bahrain. There can't be much to get wrong with this car just some tweaking needed.

Well, Schu is now stating that he new after the first test of 2010 that it was going to be a rough season. Not this time around. All of W02 looks half-baked in terms of aero. I have no doubt big things are coming. Other teams have what appear to be close to race ready cars with triplane wings, developed barge boards etc. W02 is not close to done. That being said, it makes for disheartening days for fans :/

I think I'm going to head out for a drive actually. Hoping to not get angry at my prancing horse lol.

[dren]

Taken from Mercedes GP website:

Formula One’s second winter test got underway this morning at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain as preparations continue for the start of the new season. Nico Rosberg was at the wheel of the MGP W02, with Michael Schumacher due to take over for Friday and Saturday, before Nico rounds off the programme on Sunday.



The team’s work focused on continuing the set-up programme from the first test in Valencia last week, along with further acclimatisation to the Mercedes KERS as Nico had his second test day with the system. Nico completed longer runs in the afternoon to conduct set-up comparisons and continue to develop the team’s understanding of the new Pirelli tyres. Nico completed 67 laps with the programme slightly shortened due to a repeat of the hydraulic issue experienced in Valencia which has enabled the team to confirm the source of the problem.



Nico Rosberg: “We had a reasonable day and I was able to complete quite a few laps, which is positive. It’s important for both me and the team to get good mileage and we’re really learning about the car all the time. We had a few little issues, which you always expect from a new car, so we just have to keep putting the miles on it. The KERS was working well and having more time to get used to the system is a real help; it’s not just a question of using the buttons but also understanding the effect of the KERS under braking. We are starting to understand the tyres better and that will be one of the key factors to success over the race weekends.”



TIMES



Pos Driver Car Time Laps
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.709 101
2. Sergio Perez Sauber 1:21.483 94
3. Mark Webber Red Bull 1:21.522 94
4. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:21.755 36
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:21.914 58
6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:22.689 42
7. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:23.472 28
8. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault 1:23.504 57
9. Nico Rosberg MERCEDES GP PETRONAS 1:23.963 67
10. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:24.458 54
11. Timo Glock Marussia Virgin 1:25.086 42
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:34.968 12

[ell66]

Brawn promised them a new car come race 1 last year!
Not a dang thing changed on the car.

I'm a little nervous for this car and i'm not even a merc fan. The Honda ghost still lingers.

The car looks good and the weight distribution is fixed so hopefully there's no problem come Bahrain. There can't be much to get wrong with this car just some tweaking needed.

exactly my thoughts, same things were said last year with regards to having a "big step" before the opening race.
The car looks pretty nice, but it doesnt stand out really and has very few innovations compared to others.
Its also a well knwon fact they had probably the longest lead time on the car, if so why is it just an interim car? they should be more ready than all the others. I can see them fighting to be 4/5th fastest car like last year.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

If your engineers come up with 2 solutions, both of which are very tyre dependant, what do you do?

Go with one and wait to see if you hit the bullseye?

Or wait and see what the tyres actually do before you build mods etc?

Bear in mind this is the team that have a record of struggling with tyres in previous guises(Honda/Brawn). So maybe they want to proceed with caution?

[Timstr]

All i know is that Mercedes = Honda, and a tiger can't change his stripes.
They're going to have some bad habbits carrying over even though there is a name change to the team.
I wish them the best though, because the car looks like it has potential. There's nothing wrong on it, only that the rear is a little bulky, but the rest looks good.

I also think they can implement a mclaren style sidepod since their crash structures are in the middle of the radiator ducts. So there is definitely more to come.



slight correction. It is against regulations to have the crash structure exposed to the free air stream. Therefore i don't know what the heck those black things are. Mercedes may not be able to follow mclaren then.

Scarbs is thinking the same.

ScarbsF1

Mercedes: Need more pictures, but they have placed the side impact beams across the middle of the sidepod inlet, cool new pods due for Merc?

[Ferraripilot]

Or wait and see what the tyres actually do before you build mods etc?

Exactly. That is the X factor

[f1pagan]

people, the mercedez team might be sanbagging, something pioneered by the red bull team remember?

[Owen.C93]

Red-Bull invented sandbagging?