Mercedes GP W02

[ForMuLaOne]

Ok, once again.....please take a look at the transition between the sidepot and the floor plate. Also take a look at the small bumbs in the bodywork. It really is just a chassis to check reliability and stuff that does not deal with aerodynamics so far. If you remember the updates EVERY team came up with last year....they did it all without testing right? And how much speed did they develop during season? Up to 1.5 seconds, maybe 2....WITHOUT testing. So, like Montoya said once...you either have to be blind or stupid This is my last comment on any doubters, i am a newbie and don`t want to start with bad reputation

[mep]

Do you really believe this or are you just hoping they come up with something "magical" that puts them on top?
We more and more realise that they might be no top runner again.

[luca]

Chaps, what do we even know? ...is the W02 as we see it even homologated ?
To me the cocpit section looks just too much W01 to be honest.The car is as short as a kart as well.. Lets see what they are up to ..I cannot believe Mercedes has just looked on and nodded to a high nose and a new rollover structure and we are finished...ah yes new gearbox with pullrod as well..

my idea is they put in defined steps in their programme and want to protect their findings as long as possible.
As I understand teams have realised they need to bring serious development steps to the race trackanyways without testing them .this is a fact.So who cares if you have tested your initial 4 race package in Barcelona or Jerez when you will not race it there anyways? wouldn´t it be better to test and validate your car in a very basic configuration which is easy to understand and that is clearly showing the delta when you add different configurations? I´m not sure if those front wing iterations we witnessed from Renault for example were worth something countable apart from the drivers seeing new fancy stuff which MUST be an improvement...

With the chassis being homologated, I don't think that they can have a longer wheelbase without compromising the suspension geometry. So I don't see any change coming on that aspect any time soon.

As for the testing time, the car you start the season with is the base for any future upgrade, so it is not like any other update you can bring without testing. Otherwise there would be no testing sessions at all (saving money and all).

[ForMuLaOne]

Do you really believe this or are you just hoping they come up with something "magical" that puts them on top?
We more and more realise that they might be no top runner again.

It is quite obvious that they really are hiding stuff. How would you explain a car`s design that,in some parts shows a step back for 5 years ( Cant believe people taking the sidepots serious....have to repeat that again and again) I mean there are so many hints that the bodywork is just a real interim- version.....and i will love to read comments on the real merc. It will be like " holy......WHAT a car "

[luca]

Do you really believe this or are you just hoping they come up with something "magical" that puts them on top?
We more and more realise that they might be no top runner again.

It is quite obvious that they really are hiding stuff. How would you explain a car`s design that,in some parts shows a step back for 5 years ( Cant believe people taking the sidepots serious....have to repeat that again and again) I mean there are so many hints that the bodywork is just a real interim- version.....and i will love to read comments on the real merc. It will be like " holy......WHAT a car "

As much as I really hope that will be the case, this sort of strategy can be very risky. A new aerodynamic step is one thing, a completely new car is another.
At this stage there should be at least a basic aerodynamic configuration on which any future update will be based, not a completely different car.

Also, there is no way they are bringing a completely new exhaust system to the first race with almost no testing.
There is a reason why Renault and McLaren (and Red Bull to a certain extent) are testing it right now and making changes with different configurations.

[marcush.]

Luca,

Exactly why I think segedunum will not take me up on the deal

Marcush,

When do the cars have to be homologated?

That´s not what I said..do they run what they have homologated..?

maybe they deliberately gamble to optimise their package for the pirellis.

mind you Brawn admitted that the W01 was basically giving away performance in all areas:CoG height ,Stiffness ,Aero ,it was far too conservative.Where is the logic in creating a even more conservative or let´s call it unsophisticated W02?
to me they put mileage on their new drivetrain and systems as it seems they have redone the whole rearend including hydraulics(an area where they seemed not to have any issues!).And learn everything about the tyres.
The spread of times they give us is very narrow over a race distance...how come? if the car was eating its tyres the drop off would be serious .which it is not .
But they seem to be more interested in running a constant pace .

[luca]

do they run what they have homologated..?

maybe they deliberately gamble to optimise their package for the pirellis.

What purpose could it possibly serve running a different chassis that they cannot use during the official races?
I mean, if all the new car has in common with the interim one is the engine, gearbox and kers (not even the chassis, let alone the aerodynamics), how could they assess the tyres?

The chassis should have been already homologated by now (homologation takes time, with crash testing and all). And they could not have predicted the current Bahrain situation. So delaying the homologation seems unlikely.
And if they already have the homologated chassis, why not testing it?

Also, it is not like other teams are going to copy their chassis, come on. A chassis is not a diffuser or a front wing.

[thevlack]

Pole Post. (i mean 1st post)

JET i really like you man. From a MB a SCHU fan.-

I really dont understand why so many directly attack MB, yeah you can say they lie last year regarding Updates and bla bla bla, but someone explained that they had to choose between try to solve the difficult problem with tyres and aero updates, so i believe that they made a mistake with CoG and tyres so everything that so planed went to the reclycle bin, because the car, team was doomed.

But i think its early to say if this year the miss or hit the target with the car. So perhaps the updates are comming. Nobody now for shure, so why would you talk with no bases at all, i mean if Brawn creates a Acco here, and post, we can belive him, because is his team, and he knows.

I'd like to see Michael, kick some as...es. but i dont know, so just express my feelings, and i reserve my jugdement.

Again. JET, drink a beer, and just wait. MB will prove us right. the WC is ours.
(Just dreaming)

[Byronrhys]

Every time I hear Interim car, I remember when BMW turned up with the F1.09 and it looked just like there "interim car".

Mercs pace puts them where they were last year albeit drivers more confident in the chassis, Hopefully this aero version to come has side pod deflectors at least , W02 missing those set my alarms to full, a sauber air intake wouldn't be bad either.

[luca]

Well, Brawn GP did not have them either...

[andrew]

But they did have the double diffuser that other teams mysteriously didn't have until later in the season. By then the damage was done and Brawn had a huge lead.

[Byronrhys]

Well, Brawn GP did not have them either...

They added them later in the year, like most cars they didn't have them, F1.09, R29, MP4-24 etc)

[luca]

They added them later in the year, like most cars they didn't have them, F1.09, R29, MP4-24 etc)

Oh, you are right, sorry.

[samstre]

Regarding the "interim" talk.

Actually I think both versions of the story are right. This car is some sort of "interim" car. But it's gonna be raced just like it is. It really looks like Mercedes were running out of time (for what reason ever...)

I really like to believe, that they have something in their bag - but at the moment things aren't looking too good.

So lets just assume they made a mistake and had to throw away their "old" concept - or someone told them about something really crazy and new...

Now lets just "brainstorm": What parts of a car can't be redesigned during a F1 season? What parts are really hard to redesign and what parts are really easy to change?

BTW: Any corrections/additions are welcome!!!

Parts that can't be redesigned (Crash structure):
* Nose cone
* Roll-over structure
* side crash-structure.
* ???

Things that are hard to change (4-6 Months):
* Wheelbase
* Packaging
* ???

Things that are easy to change/copy (1-2 Months):
* Front wings
* Rear wings
* Radiators
* ???


OK... So what would we do if we were Brawn, and we would have found out, that our concept has some big flaw or someone had told us about something really nice?

What are our priorities?


P.S. So far the only thing that worries me, is that fact that they are not easy on their tires.

[luca]

http://www.mercedes-gp.com/

Barcelona Test - Day One

Formula One’s third pre-season test began at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today with Michael Schumacher kicking off the programme for the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. Nico Rosberg will take over the car on Saturday and Sunday, before Michael completes the four-day test on Monday.

With the track damp from overnight rain and taking time to come up to speed, Michael first headed out midway through the morning to complete aerodynamic evaluations and balance checks. Following the lunch break, he completed a successful race simulation including pit stops. Michael completed 90 laps in total today.

Michael Schumacher: “We had a good day and it is certainly satisfying to finish a race distance with all of the systems operational and to have everything working fine. Now we have to turn our focus to performance and it was important to complete today’s simulation to understand how the car and tyres behave going from a heavy to lighter fuel load.”

Barcelona Test - Day Two

Nico Rosberg was in action at the wheel of the MGP W02 in Barcelona today for the second day of this week’s test.

A positive day of running saw Nico complete further acclimatisation work with the KERS system, alongside set-up comparisons and aerodynamic evaluations in the morning session. During the afternoon, the team successfully completed its second full race simulation of this week’s test, including live pit stops.

Nico completed 131 laps, which equates to over 600kms of running and is one lap short of two full race distances at the Circuit de Catalunya. He will continue the programme tomorrow before Michael resumes testing on Monday.

Nico Rosberg: “We completed a great deal of mileage and that was important for me to understand more about the tyre behaviour. There is a lot for the drivers to learn about how the Pirelli tyres are performing, and about how to make them last over the long runs; it's going to be a key factor this year in the races and I think we made good progress on that front today. The reliability was ok but everybody in the team knows we need to keep pushing to make sure we are trouble-free for the start of the season.”