Mercedes GP W02

[ringo]

nah.
a spacer will seriously compromise the installation stiffness then you need new floor and to make use of the found space a reshaped sidepod would be needed as well...

But are theay really wrong with what they got? it´s not like they struggle to get into Q3 now they understand the car ..They are fighting with renault for p4 in the constructors so relative to the opposition they have made similar progress methinks.

If it's well designed the spacer wont be an issue with the stiffness. The change would be academic. The rigidity wont be an issue.
Just think of it as an extended bell housing. It wont break any regs as the gear box is still the same.
Redbull has the longest gear box and they aren't suffering any rigidity issues.
I'd say it's a simple solution that will overcome a lot of problems.

Yes they will need a new floor and side pods, but that's the point of the spacer, to make it a whole new car.

[marcush.]

they lag 1.2seconds Ihave a gut feeling that adding 6Kg of weight to elongate the car will not any time gain over a single lap.

I find it very striking just how long the merc drivers have to wait before applying the slightest throttle...In fact they seem to wait for the car to be completely straight before flooring it.

[siskue2005]

Too conservative designers. You those people who are afraid to throw all their previous work into the trash (or recycle bin?)? I have a feeling that those are the guys at Merc. Too conservative - afraid to change big.

If it's not a big change, than what?

The only thing different is nose cone and exhaust position
Rest everything is still the same!!

[beelsebob]

The only thing different is nose cone and exhaust position
Rest everything is still the same!!

• Nose cone (as you pointed out) is a totally different shape
• Front wing supports
• Front wing
• Barge boards
• Turning veins
• Level of sidepod undercut
• Sidepod length
• Airbox undercut
• Vestigial sharkfin
• Exhaust position

I'm sure there's far mor than that too... that's just what's visibly different in that pair of pics.

[gridwalker]

Too conservative designers. You those people who are afraid to throw all their previous work into the trash (or recycle bin?)? I have a feeling that those are the guys at Merc. Too conservative - afraid to change big.

If it's not a big change, than what?

The only thing different is nose cone and exhaust position
Rest everything is still the same!!

Don't forget the airbox positioning, the rear suspension type (which requires a different gearbox casing), the KERS system and the rear wing with DRS ...

[marcush.]

Mercedes have build again a unique car in this years grid .Mclaren have even more bucked all trends when Ferrari is the master of conservatism in my book.

No i don´t think Mercedes is too conservative.Quite thge opposite.They do too much of their own soup without proper investigation and questioning themselves hard enough why the others don´t follow their path.

[ringo]

they lag 1.2seconds Ihave a gut feeling that adding 6Kg of weight to elongate the car will not any time gain over a single lap.

I find it very striking just how long the merc drivers have to wait before applying the slightest throttle...In fact they seem to wait for the car to be completely straight before flooring it.

They wont be adding 6 kg, remeber they have ballast on the car.
Not only that i can bet you that the double radiator is heavier than a typical system and it's also higher up in the car. That is a lot of compromise weight, even more than an adapter, as water is very heavy. That radiator system is atealt 1.5 times bigger than a typical system and a good 8 inches higher.

It's a proper solution in my opinion.

Let me find a top view of the car....

[Ferraripilot]

Any conjecture regarding if the EBD they are introducing at Silverstone will help the rear tires? It may help some but I am not expecting any miracles. It seems MB are adopting a W02/RB7 mix type design which I don't believe will completely work. They are most likely using the remainder of the season and upgrades to learn what works and what doesn't for next year's car. The high radiator setup with the short wheelbase sure looks great on paper but it doesn't seem to go past that.

[dren]

He said the position of the fuel cell could be better (CoG too high), wheelbase too so basically the same things as last year. Wonder why they got it wrong again for the W02 when they knew the W01 had those issues and it was the wrong way to go?

I'm guessing the car was designed around the floor/diffuser and the exhaust layout which probably dictated the short wheel base. The car next year will likely be similar but with a different exhaust and wheel base.

[PlatinumZealot]

Too conservative designers. You those people who are afraid to throw all their previous work into the trash (or recycle bin?)? I have a feeling that those are the guys at Merc. Too conservative - afraid to change big.

If it's not a big change, than what?

Talking about in season development. Mclaren had the balls to hastily change to what the Bulls were doing before even thinking too hard. This is what Merc has been lacking.

[Adamski]

Talking about in season development. Mclaren had the balls to hastily change to what the Bulls were doing before even thinking too hard. This is what Merc has been lacking.

Sorry if I misunderstood your opinions, but the context of your post was about the differences between the W01 and the W02.
And yes, maybe they are thinking too hard, as they are trying to go a completely different way then McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari.
But it is clear now, that it's the wrong way. I think it is like innovations didn't work. They invest, but in the development phase, there were mistakes.
Of course, they were slow. It needed about 5 or 6 races to realize the mistakes. But they got a lot of different problems with the car (malfunction DRS, cooling issues, tire issues, the approach of the weekend and setups, and who knows what).
The big question is, what will they do?
Trying to go in their own way and maximize the opportunities they have now
or go the way like the top teams.

[Joie de vivre]

i have noticed no difference on the race

[Ferraripilot]

i have noticed no difference on the race

The rear tires and rear end in general seem to be depicting their races. Unfortunately there is no complete fix for the issue as it is fundamentally wrong.

[siskue2005]

I'm sure there's far mor than that too... that's just what's visibly different in that pair of pics.

Thats exactly the point, its too conservative!

Basically everything visible on the car has changed and you still think it's too conservative?

I don't see everything is changed?
The air box is conventional
The front wing far too conservative - same as two years ago
Rear wing far too conservative - same as two years ago
Side pods r too conservative - same as two years ago , they added that exhaust in that position , nothing more
Same old small wheelbase
they added th pull rods , but it is of no use as they have those horrendous gills ruining the aero in that are
They even had a snow pluogh tea try , now it's just plane old piece

And yes I say it again, it's far too conservative

[gridwalker]

TWO years ago? Ok, now you've changed your argument. What you're now saying is that they've reverted to a previous design, rather than being conservative with how they developed the previous car.

Lets take a look at the BGP01 and the W02 side by side :