Mercedes GP 2011

[Hemsy]

Willis was TD at Bar/Honda from 2001 to 2006 during which time they produced some disastrous cars. He was also fired by Red Bull in 2009 after they realized they no longer needed his services. What does that say about him?

[raymondu999]

I remember him being at RBR. What was he back then?

[Hemsy]

I remember him being at RBR. What was he back then?

Technical Director. Then came along Newey and the rest as they say is history. Also till date Willis' role at BAR/Honda is not known so I apologize for stating that he was TD at Brackley in my previous post.

[raymondu999]

I just checked. It was Newey who was there first. In fact he recruited Willis. Adrian was there since 2006, Geoff since mid 07

[Cocles]

I love how people were praising Geoff Willis just a few days ago in this very thread, but now that he's at Mercedes-- "Oh er, he sucks."

Haters gonna hate.

I'm sorry one of your favorite teams is about to be bumped out of the top three.

[raymondu999]

Which top 3 team do you reckon is going to get bumped? For the record I've never commented on Geof Willis' "competitiveness," for lack of a better word

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Geoffrey Willis will join the team as Technology Director on 17 October and Aldo Costa will begin his role as Engineering Director on 1 December.

So we have a structure in place.

Aldo and Geoffrey will report to Technical Director Bob Bell. Aldo will be responsible for design and development, and Geoffrey will head the aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, control systems and simulation functions.

So Bell is conducting his orchestra!
Good that Merc have beefed up the aero dept. I wonder if Bigois reamins but is demoted or pushed sideways?

[Byronrhys]

BOMB squad... Nuff Said.

[Hemsy]

Geoffrey Willis will join the team as Technology Director on 17 October and Aldo Costa will begin his role as Engineering Director on 1 December.

So we have a structure in place.

Aldo and Geoffrey will report to Technical Director Bob Bell. Aldo will be responsible for design and development, and Geoffrey will head the aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, control systems and simulation functions.

So Bell is conducting his orchestra!
Good that Merc have beefed up the aero dept. I wonder if Bigois reamins but is demoted or pushed sideways?

Very good point JET! You can have the best personnel in the world but if you have no one guiding the ship then you'll end up being like Real Madrid's Galacticos (a group of superstars but not a team). With Bob Bell at the helm they have a Jose Mourinho who knows to mould them into a single cohesive unit ala the dream team of Ferrari.

[Cocles]

Which top 3 team do you reckon is going to get bumped? For the record I've never commented on Geof Willis' "competitiveness," for lack of a better word

Nah, no worries, it was Hemsy's post I was replying to... and even then, he wasn't necessarily the guy actually singing Willis' praises a few days ago. That said, it's still eye rolling that no one spoke out against Willis when he became the topic of conversation until it was learned he'd be working for MGP.

As for which team? Hopefully McLaren, since it'd be good for the works team to outpace the customer team. That's said, looking at the points, Ferrari is more within reach.

[shelly]

I think that to complete their lineup they need a top-tier aero guy. Maybe they alredy have one, and he just isn't famous; or maybe they are trying to catch some big name like Iley or Prodromou. A nice bet would be getting Agathangelou.

The point in hiring Costa ad Willis, beyond their skills, lies also in that they know a lot of tricks from their previous teams. Evry team exploits very small loopholes in the rules (not the big loopholes that come out in the press, small loophles for small gains), and getting Costa and Willis onboard will get all the knowledge of Ferrari's tricks and rbr's till 2009.

[Fil]

Wasn't Willis credited for helping RBR resolve it's reliability problems?

Once he achieved that, his job there was done and he moved on. I don't recall there being bad blood?


Now, Mercedes doesn't particularly have that issue, but he's obviously a solid, experienced person to bring on board to a team that's already top 4. Surely it won't hurt them.

To bring on Costa, with his indepth knowledge of how Ferrari operates, at the same time, give Mercedes the opportunities to incorporate various top team structures into their own.

[raymondu999]

I think that was the problem at RBR IIRC; he felt "undervalued" as such; his skills lie in aero, not a QC/production manager. He felt that he was being used as such and so left for greener pastures

[Hemsy]

Which top 3 team do you reckon is going to get bumped? For the record I've never commented on Geof Willis' "competitiveness," for lack of a better word

Nah, no worries, it was Hemsy's post I was replying to... and even then, he wasn't necessarily the guy actually singing Willis' praises a few days ago. That said, it's still eye rolling that no one spoke out against Willis when he became the topic of conversation until it was learned he'd be working for MGP.

As for which team? Hopefully McLaren, since it'd be good for the works team to outpace the customer team. That's said, looking at the points, Ferrari is more within reach.

I never questioned Willis' abilities because I didn't think he would join Merc. Costa on the other hand I was confident of which is why I said that Costa as a TD might not be a great choice considering his track record at Ferrari but in a slightly lesser role he'd really add value to the team again considering his track record at Ferrari before he became TD.

[dren]

I agree Hemsy. Those were my thoughts as well. Merc is going to be looking really solid with these two hires. Let's just hope that they will not be too top heavy.