Mercedes GP 2011

[Raptor22]

Ahh I see we're still feeding xpensive with bait

let bitterness be alone

[xpensive]

...
Sadly not even Mercedes can get it right first time in F1, and mistakes need to be made to be able to learn from.
...

Cheer up JET, Mercedes is in good company, but just look at Ross Brawn in his only second attempt as Team Principal?

[raymondu999]

Brawn has been saying recently that Vettel's biggest test will be when he's not in the fastest car and how he can help pull the team out of the doldrums and build a good car. It almost sounds to me like he's daring Vettel to join MGP

[dren]

You beat me to it raymondu999. I was thinking the same thing.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95260

[raymondu999]

I don't think that was just a simple comment. Brawn praises his abilities and talent; and also his personality and how he is under pressure. The one thing I noted was that despite Brawn saying the test would be when he's in a car that is not the best; he makes no mention of Seb's on track talents; but rather on him saving a team and helping develop a car

Brawn's a smart cookie. I think Brawn is challenging him openly to head over to MGP and be their Messiah

[marcush.]

Marcush

The hiring of Willis, Bell and Costa along with increasing absolute numbers to 580 AND the staged implementation of the expensive new simulator tells me that Mercedes-Benz are putting their money where their mouth is.

They are serious as a heart attack about F1. Sadly not even Mercedes can get it right first time in F1, and mistakes need to be made to be able to learn from.
I'm very interested to see what the changes mean in terms of performance next year.

Not expecting a winning car, but wouldnt it be great to see Schumacher bloodying a few noses in a competitive silberpfeil?

Im quietly confident we will see an improvement. Equally, the noises the team are making for next year are very reserved. Finally some of the Mercedes reserve is filtering into the team

Jet .of course they are shooting all cannons now .But don´t you think it´s a bit late ? If they were realistic people they would have come up with a proper plan how to win the WDC in 2009 and not come over the way they did expecting to be able to compete with a core troop and semi up to date equipment.It ´s fishy you can`t dispute this.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Marcush

Brawn won in 2009 with 450 staff. Thats how he sold it to Merc, fact. The problem is, it was a design 18 months in the making, with a huge rule change to boot.

Now if Mercedes didn't have an appetite to go racing, they wouldnt have bought this team. McLaren forced their hand by going it alone with the 12C.

Mercedes will not entertain funding a rival to the tune of 80 million a year. Its not prudent and certainly not clever.
What has happened is Mercedes had the oppurtunity to buy an established team for the same they give McLaren every year.

The results are worse, but then Everyman and his dog still assumes Mercedes involvement with McLaren due to the tri star and big "Mercedes-Benz" lettering on the flanks of the engine cover.

So what are Mercedes losing at present? Not very much from what I can tell.

They still have a high profile with McLaren, without having to fork out the 80 million. And they are cultivating their own GP team in much the same way McLaren did when Merc/Macca got together in 1994....Ahh remember 1994! How rubbish McLaren were then! 1995 wasnt that much better and 96 echoed 95.

By this yardstick Mercedes GP are actually doing pretty well.
The lesson learnt from then is that Mercedes are patient, they waited 4 years to get their first win WITH MCLAREN.

Doing it themselves, they expected more of course. But with the situation at Brackley not as it seemed, it will take a bit longer.
In 5 years time, my prediction is Mercedes will be considered a top line team in much the same way Ferrari McLaren and RB are. And for F1 its a good thing, because we wont have the 4 car shootouts we saw over the last decade with macca and Ferrari.

[dren]

I don't think that was just a simple comment. Brawn praises his abilities and talent; and also his personality and how he is under pressure. The one thing I noted was that despite Brawn saying the test would be when he's in a car that is not the best; he makes no mention of Seb's on track talents; but rather on him saving a team and helping develop a car

Brawn's a smart cookie. I think Brawn is challenging him openly to head over to MGP and be their Messiah

Agree, he's trying to lure Vettel into the team to lead them to greatness just like Schumacher at Ferrari.

[raymondu999]

Having said all this, a VET-MSC Merc GP would be an awesome news story wouldn't it?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Vettel + Schumi in a mercedes team wont happen.

Schumacher will probably call it quits end of 2012. Although, if the W03 is competitive we may see him in 2013.

Run this by what Vettel will be doing. RB8 and 9 will certainly be competitive if the lineage is continued from the RB5/6/7(Which I expect to see-evolution).
And allied to the fact he is signed up until 2014, Schumacher may be long gone by then.

So for this to happen would require a desire on the part of Vettel to leave a winning Newey team, and For Mercedes to stump up the cash to break his contract and for the team to be in a position to challenge the team he vacates.
All this is unlikely before 2014, I would go further and say improbable and even impossible.

Too much money, too much at stake for Vettel to lose going before 2014 and Schumacher will not be around in 3/4 years time as good as he is.

[raymondu999]

I know it probably wouldn't. But we can dream...

[dren]

Yes we can! A Vettel Schumacher combo would be pretty damn exciting. It is fun to watch at the ROC every year.

I expect the Red Bull to be the best car again next year, but come 2013, that will all likely get a shake up.

[marcush.]

I think that could be the kind of scenario suiting Seb and michael enough to go for it in 2013 or 2014 ?
Maybe Schu winning his 8th title and handing ovber to the prince...that would be a diamond opportunity for merc....

[dren]

Oh please let it be!

[xpensive]

...
Jet .of course they are shooting all cannons now .But don´t you think it´s a bit late ? If they were realistic people they would have come up with a proper plan how to win the WDC in 2009 and not come over the way they did expecting to be able to compete with a core troop and semi up to date equipment.It ´s fishy you can`t dispute this.

Not shooting a cannon or two marcush, hiring three Technical Directors in one year is nothing less than an act of desperation, makes you wonder what Ross Brawn's job a Ferrari was, other than being MrM's personal ambassador to the winning team?