The problems Mercedes have relate directly to the 2008/09 Honda fire sale.
Brackley was set up as 1 half of a whole, with Japan providing further know how with their dedicated R&D departements at hand to help out(the guy responsible for the double diffuser is said to have done so in Japan).
All developments were checked and the re checked by the other to verify, a double standard to pass essentially.
The moment Honda announced the were out, it left Brackley immediatley at a disadvantage to its own former self, as it could no longer call upon Honda corp for assistance.
Honda in fairness were also very very generous and gave the team a £100 million golden handshake.
Now what would happen to any organisation undergoing such a tumultuous change?
Perhaps Brawn painted a rosy picture to Mercedes, but he owed that to his remaining staff, as that ensured the teams survival and those that worked there.
Perhaps Mercedes were gullible, but their hand was forced by Mclaren and its MP4 12C roadcar.
Either way, Mercedes havent made any noise about leaving and have invested in a multi million pound state of the art simulator along with other hardware and even staff in the shape of Bob Bell.
Lets see what happens, because I have never seen a new team arrive and wipe the floor with the opposition other than Brawn, which was actuially a Honda/Merc hybrid..so not strictly new. And given the changes over 2008/09/10 I think Mercedes could really be deemed new with the amount of staff turnover they had.
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