Team: John Owen (CD), Loic Bigois (HA), Craig Wilson (Head of Vehicle Eng. & Dynamics), Russell Cooley (CE), Ross Brawn (TP), Nick Fry (CEO), Norbert Haug (VP), Thomas Fuhr (MD), Rob Thomas (COO) Drivers: Michael Schumacher (7), Nico Rosberg (8)
A place to discuss the characteristics of the cars in Formula One, both current as well as historical. Laptimes, driver worshipping and team chatter do not belong here.
ForMuLaOne wrote:Ok, here`s my opinion about the changes.
1. Despite having one of the biggest side pot air intake ( don`t know if this expression is right ) they STILL need to remove the covers on top.
2. The thermal issues also occure around the exhaust system.
now if you watch closely at THE PICTURE BELOW where you can actually look inside the sidepots ( from the front) you always see some carbon fibre in the middle of it. It looks like a splitter or something. So what i think ( or hope, just to calm down any doubters ) is that the air intake is actually as half as big as it seems to be. The lower half is quite useless, that`s why they needed to cut slices out of the body work at the very rear. It could also explain the slightly burnt bodywork. Because the air blows into the bodywork there is some sort of pressure, they try to get rid of it by cutting the slices, but it does not work.
What i would say is: Air intake will be as half as big as it is right now. There won`t be any slices in the bodywork ( or less). The exhaust could look like the RB solution.
Please let`s just deal with the technical aspect. Wether it is my hope or not. I just would like to hear if anybody thinks to the same direction.
One posibilty:
They will relise air stream benith sidepods (lifted sidepods) even more extreme solution then Toro rosso. they will close that channel on the outher side by connecting floor and sidepod.
Exhaust solution then like renaoults or red bulls. Just speculation. Sorry about the spelling and grammer.
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I came across this on the Autosport live feed for day 4:
Autosport F1 Editor wrote:They definitely aren't hiding anything. The car looks pretty bad on track – lacking front end grip and forcing the drivers to work hard to get it to do what they want, which is never a good way to carry speed through corners.
The car seems to be something of the order of 1.5 seconds off the pace, which is definitely a big problem. Ross Brawn has said that the plan was to launch a "plain" car for the start of testing and then do a big upgrade for Bahrain, but you can be sure that the plan wasn't to run a car with such plain performance.
The team has been switching between two versions of its front wing – one with two slots cut in the main element – suggesting aero problems. Our technical consultant, Gary Anderson, firmly believes that a two-element front wing is more unstable than a three-element one, and it's possible that this is to deal with airflow separation problems.
Nico Rosberg was at his fastest running this wing yesterday, so we will probably see a new front wing based on that concept. There will also be new exhausts – Brawn has promised an innovative design – as well as other aerodynamic revisions. Although it would be an exaggeration to call it a B-spec car, this will be a major package and bolting it on at the eve of the first race is not something you would do in an ideal world, as it will change the characteristics of the car. Also, new exhausts can lead to overheating problems.
This is not the kind of schedule you would design, unless forced to by circumstances, so the team has a lot of work to do.
Hi, this is a new comment from the German Auto Motor Sport - known as serious magazin they were bashing Mercedes GP at the beginning of the tests but now they wrote following (translated from German by Google):
Nico Rosberg was the star of the third test day of Barcelona. His first record time was Renault driver Vitaly Petrov beaten yet, but then presented with the German 1.23,168 minutes a time on the track, in which Petrov clinical studies. The day before, Mercedes-race director Norbert Haug have speculated: "At the moment we are not in the top ten." Why put it in the paddock after Rosberg clearance of all places, the question of the Mercedes has finally learned to walk?
Fact: Rosberg simulated several qualification tests. The fact is that the cool temperatures on Sunday afternoon, the winged lap times. And the track was after the rain in the morning clean. Since driving the Formula 1 with Pirelli tires, the rubber particles plays no role. But the fact is that the Mercedes has made on the third day of testing a much better impression than in the days before.
This is because the silver arrows go from the test in Barcelona almost trouble-free. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg have reeled off three days of 313 laps or 1457 kilometers. A smooth test mode is the condition that you can work on the car and optimize the vote. Ferrari shows the way. The red cars do not look spectacular, but quickly. Because Ferrari has understood early on his car. Team boss Ross Brawn confirmed that it was only now able to try different resolutions and to understand the tires. "A very important issue is, what the temperature of the tires in the first round would collect."
Mercedes Underbody broken
As Rosberg on Sunday marked his best time, also the various problems were solved that had slowed the Mercedes drivers to the previous day. A photographer had to send Brawn pictures that showed how strongly bent at Turn 9 of the diffuser of the car. For a general check presented the mechanics fixed the problem. "There is something in the range of the bottom was broken, we have repaired."
The sound of the engine revealed that Mercedes was experimenting on Sunday with other maps in order to use the exhaust gases better. The test carrier of MGP W02 incorporates the exhaust gases up to now only a small part in support of the flow with one. "Our exhaust system is to start the season look completely different," says Brawn.
In addition, on the third day was working again and the hybrid drive. They are equal by four tenths of a stopwatch. "We have had a problem with the communication of the software," admits Mercedes racing director Norbert Haug. Finally, Rosberg was traveling with his qualifying attempt with closed side boxes. When the outdoor temperature rises above 15 degrees, Mercedes has to open the side pods on the top. "We are under the disguise of high temperatures. If we open the side pods, does the lap time. The problem will be resolved but until the first test."
Mercedes leaders meet in Brackley
After the tenth total of 15 test days, the situation at Mercedes after all, from not as bleak as it had been communicated in first tentative assessments. The increase came at the right moment. Today, meet at the Formula 1 factory in Brackley, the top British leaders to discuss the situation. Included are Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, Norbert Haug and Ross Brawn.
The Englishman sees his team further in the plan: "If our stage comes, we take a big step, I am confident that there will be a greater than, what does the competition.." This will also be necessary if Mercedes will take the podium this year.
Gary Anderson metioned last year how the Sauber was definatly a top 3 car.....
@marcush and Raptor.
It is also not beyond the realms of reason for Mercedes to increase the wheel base either. As a poster mentioned, short wheel base will exaggerate any characteristics.
Maybe this is the point. Find out what they do at the limit and work around it.
As for the sidepods, well that could be anything. We may see somthing less extravegent but more workable than Mclarens. We may not see anything new.
I think the key to the W02 lies in the Front tyres usage and the three plane front wing. Turn in hampered the W01 and it appears to be in the W02. Solve the turn in issue and Mercedes will be top 3.
JohnsonsEvilTwin wrote:
...
And did I get it right that Rosberg set his 1.23.1 without KERS and a broken floor?
Don't sandbag JET, they were on full tank with tyres worn to the cord, while Nico was hungover with a splitting headache.
Don't forget he also used the Fuelsaving engine mapping as well.
And a full lunch as well as lead in his shoes? C'mon guys its a reasonable question.
The KERS wasnt working, and the twisting from the diffuser (caught by a photographer) demonstrated a broken floor.
Reasonable question right?
Brawn is still cautious of revealing any details regarding the innovations of the new car: "In the aerodynamics area, we have some surprises that we will only show in Bahrain."
"When the new aerodynamic regulations were published, we immediatly started developing the first wind-tunnel models," says Brawn.
Around April 2010.
No matter what you have to say about them. If Brawn is saying something will come, then we will wait and see.
Now they suck? maybe. But I'd believe what they have to say about updates until proven otherwise.
Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
Brawn is still cautious of revealing any details regarding the innovations of the new car: "In the aerodynamics area, we have some surprises that we will only show in Bahrain."
I'd have thought they needed some aero upgrades THIS year, rather than next year
JET in the german version of the AMuS report, it reads as if the time was done with all systems working, a repaired floor and the top of the sidepods closed.
In other words it was as good as it get´s for now.
At least as far as your questions go.
The same report says, that at temperatures >15°C they need to open the top of the sidepods to prevent overheating.
You make from this what you like.
"Make the suspension adjustable and they will adjust it wrong ......
look what they can do to a carburetor in just a few moments of stupidity with a screwdriver." - Colin Chapman
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” - Leonardo da Vinci
Brawn is still cautious of revealing any details regarding the innovations of the new car: "In the aerodynamics area, we have some surprises that we will only show in Bahrain."
I'd have thought they needed some aero upgrades THIS year, rather than next year
wie bitte??
Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
No, the floor was broken the days before BUT they are testing different engine characteristica so, as Brawn said allready, they used the first 3 tests to validate the car and to go for reliability. I think in Barcelona they will go for speed in combination with an bigger new aero upgrade (front wing, sidepods) and an exhaust solution.
@segedunum - you posted "no, you can't just compare with Massa at an arbitrary time"
Sorry guy but when you would have had a look at the time of both you would have noticed, that both were at nearly the same time at comparable track conditions on the same stint length. This is more fact than your statment 'The lap times over the tests and over any distance are nothing short of exceptionally poor versus even Williams or Torro Rosso' - this is nothing more than your personal wish but no fact.
Everyone who folowed the live timing was able to see, that on long stints also ferrari and Red Bull where driving in timeframes of 1.25 to 1.35.
Mercedes is not complete now - no question - but to judge without knowing their test programm and without any idea of what they will bring up until 1st race is not very 'professional'.
Med4224 wrote:
I'd have thought they needed some aero upgrades THIS year, rather than next year
wie bitte??[/quote]
Sorry. Dry joke. I was referring to how Bahrain was cancelled. Don't speak German btw, what does Wie Bitte mean? About the only German I understand is "Prost"
) they STILL need to remove the covers on top.
) is that the air intake is actually as half as big as it seems to be. The lower half is quite useless, that`s why they needed to cut slices out of the body work at the very rear. It could also explain the slightly burnt bodywork. Because the air blows into the bodywork there is some sort of pressure, they try to get rid of it by cutting the slices, but it does not work.
