Mercedes GP W02

[jav]

Not a single word about bob on the website.... - aüart from the announcement back in february

Somethings not right there. I wonder if there's going to be a "major announcement" after China if things don't improve significantly??

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Haug on China:

We are expecting a difficult and challenging weekend for our team, like we had in Malaysia, where a finish in the lower part of the points rankings was the best that was achievable with our current technical package.

Stuttgart will be reeling.

But, lets see what happens. If there are no KERs and DRS issues, and no set up problems, Brawn will have to admit his design team have failed.
With the lead time and investment, compared to say the Sauber, Mercedes dont need a scalpel to remove the deadwood at Brackley, they need a chainsaw.

[mep]

I am affright the consequences of Mercedes will be to pull out of F1. It's bad that they have already sold their share of McLaren. So there is no going back. It seems like they have manoeuvred themselves in a really poor situation. They expected to buy a championship winning team but it turns out to be a lame duck that got a lucky punch 2009.

[wunderkind]

Haug on China:

We are expecting a difficult and challenging weekend for our team, like we had in Malaysia, where a finish in the lower part of the points rankings was the best that was achievable with our current technical package.

Stuttgart will be reeling.

But, lets see what happens. If there are no KERs and DRS issues, and no set up problems, Brawn will have to admit his design team have failed.
With the lead time and investment, compared to say the Sauber, Mercedes dont need a scalpel to remove the deadwood at Brackley, they need a chainsaw.

Is Bob Bell, able as he is, going to make much difference to the W02 at this stage?

[roadwarrior]

Hopefully he will be able to spot where the rot is and make some changes. May be a bit late to make a difference for the W02 to become a champion contender but hopefully will be enough to lift it to the top 3 by the second half of the season.

[wunderkind]

I am affright the consequences of Mercedes will be to pull out of F1. It's bad that they have already sold their share of McLaren. So there is no going back. It seems like they have manoeuvred themselves in a really poor situation. They expected to buy a championship winning team but it turns out to be a lame duck that got a lucky punch 2009.

I think Ross Brawn and his team will have to turn the team's fortunes by the middle of the 2012 season at the latest. The CEO of Daimler - Dr Dieter Zetsche is probably going to retire at or around the launch of the next S-Class in late 2012 or 2013. Once Zetsche confirms his departure, the Board of Directors of Daimler and his successor (Thomas Weber? Wolfgang Bernhard?) will have ample reasons to terminate their involvement in an underperforming F1 team.

I do hope Ross Brawn and Bob Bell can turn things around. The evil side of me tells me they should just spend the rest of the season cloning the Red Bull RB7 and try to make it a winner for 2012 right from the start. But it's easier said than done.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Yes he can make an impact on the W02.

He knows the way to conduct a technical department. And if there is a weak link he will prbably be able to snuff it out one hopes.

EDIT:

Wolfgang Bernhard is Dr Zetsche's protege, so if he is appointed he will look to keep the F1 programme with his signature of making it succesfull. At the moment Mercedes are doing very well around the globe, and F1 is actually a very cheap way of getting your brand televised globally

But, Mercedes are not showering themselves in glory with the W02. And Bernhard is a bit of a maverick in terms of style, so its in the balance. No wins by 2012 end and who knows.


Mods feel free to move this to Mercedes GP 2011

[wunderkind]

Yes he can make an impact on the W02.

He knows the way to conduct a technical department. And if there is a weak link he will prbably be able to snuff it out one hopes.

My suspicion is that since the W02 is plagued with so many problems (DRS, cooling, too short wheelbase, traction and tyre wear), Bob Bell would probably not want to waste too much efforts into rescuing the W02. Instead, Bob Bell would probably want to concentrate all his efforts to the W03 as it will be the first Mercedes under his supervision. It is going to be a looooooong hard 2011 season for Mercedes.

Don't forget Mercedes GP is a much smaller outfit than McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, and even Loutus Renault. They cannot afford to develop the W02 without compromising the design of the W03.

*Wolfgang Bernhard may be Zetsche's protege, but he is brutal realist*

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Thing is why is the W02 suffering from all these issues?

I dont mean to lead a witch hunt, but surely accountability is still a modern paradigm? I cannot believe there are a few hundred staff who have dodged the bullet year on year on year.

[wesley123]

We can be harsh and say the guys working there are a bunch of monkeys, i have repeated it multiple times before and i do it again, they have never made a decent car.

If i where mercedes GP this is what i would do;
-Sack most the team and replace them by younger guys just out of university or guys out of airplane industry, aure these guys have to learn the ropes but you get a fresh squad, a squad that is unknown to older idea's and are more likely to go with new things, as these are as well unknown ground. You still have a few older guys walking throuhg the building to learn these new guys it. You sack these older guys over the years.
-Pump huge amonts of money in it
-Aim for the new formula in 2013, let Schumi run for 2012 and then sack him, have you ever noticed that there is always something wrong with his car, but then when you see him on tv there is nothing wrong with his car and see him make mistakes all over the place.

[3one]

Thing is why is the W02 suffering from all these issues?

I dont mean to lead a witch hunt, but surely accountability is still a modern paradigm? I cannot believe there are a few hundred staff who have dodged the bullet year on year on year.

Well if you ask me it's the lack of innovative tech in the car... it still looks like a conservative upgrade from the W01...

Back on the time when the pages of this thread was still 2 digits we were expecting something radical on the sidepods and exhaust, but alas its still bulky with a little minor revisions on its shape...

About the exhaust, any idea on why they placed it near the middle? Does it have much benefit on blowing lots of hot air on top of the floor (whereas on the bottom to feed the diffuser) in terms of downforce benefits?

So what do you think the next update will be? Given there's a bit of real estate behind the sidepods... How about pushing the exhaust to point directly below the beam wing rather than pointing it on the edges of the diffuser (ala RBR, Ferrari and Mclaren)?

[madly]

I am affright the consequences of Mercedes will be to pull out of F1. It's bad that they have already sold their share of McLaren. So there is no going back. It seems like they have manoeuvred themselves in a really poor situation. They expected to buy a championship winning team but it turns out to be a lame duck that got a lucky punch 2009.

There is no Renault in F1, do you know?
Renault has 0% shares at Lotus Renault GP.

But it's on 3 teams: RBR, LR GP and Team Lotus.

Is it invisible?

Mercedes could choose the same road...

[tok-tokkie]

Bob Bell is there now but who was the design guy there in charge of the WO2.

Ross Brawn may be the head but, as Xpensive succinctly points out, he is no Engineer. He was a machine & wind tunnel operator at Williams. When he was at Ferrari Rory Byrne was the car designer. He seems to be good when there are other good people around.

[analist01]

Well, its such a shame that Schumacher returns and it was a gamble and still in the second year they are struggling. Dont understand me wrong, Rosberg has so many years front of him, but Schumi has only 1-2 years remaining. He had a legendary career and we just want to see him in a good car. If you watch the old youtube videos you can see the guy can race, its just their were so many changes when he was gone, that you can compare it as a second formula one career.

Last gp previous year we saw some good races and its just that if Schumi hasnt the feeling with a car its quite difficult for him to get his pace and race laps done in a way that he can fight for wins. I miss the days where schumi would easily fight for pole and in the race just fires away and wins just another gp.

[jav]

I don't know but the next guy should immediatly rename to the car "GO" 2.
WO just seems to be what you say to a horse to slow down and it appears to have had the same effect on the car.