Mercedes GP 2011

[Leon]

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

I also think that thing

[marcush.]

...
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?

Exp maybe I´m wrong again (as I always was when it comes to the silverarrows..)but then I´m not working for the team so i can afford to be a bit far off...
I´m not sure how it could work but on the other hand I hope willis ,Bell and costa are not mad or just hot after the retainer they have negotiated with Ross and Norby.

As for the myth about Brawns car design abilities ...we can safely say he has not much expertise but his looooong experience and certainly some hard facts have engraved themselves into his brain in the past 20+years...
But now we got enough experts anyways ..I don´t understand how Bigois is fitting in there ..he must be wondering about his position as an ex tech director of Ligier/Prost....


as for the 2011 scoring situation of MGP Rosberg seems to have lost his luck having comparable DNFs or non points scoring finishes to MS this year when Michael seemed to drop out of the points more often and undoubtedly has more technical issues than Rosberg since day one.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

.....moving on.

Questions of Mercedes not having the full compliment of staff and what it means for the RRA are answered today by Brawn:

At the end of day, Aldo and Geoff are two headcounts. So I am sure once they settle in they will have their thoughts on ways to make the organisation stronger, but we will respect the RRA. We do have space under the RRA, as we look to increase our capacity.

Questions asked as to the structure are answered pretty emphatically too:

I can understand the comments about too many cooks.
I think the important thing is to have a clear structure in terms of who does what. We have taken time with both Aldo and Geoff to discuss and define the structure, to make sure that lines of reponsibility and lines of authority are very clearly stated.I think any team that doesn't allow its people to have an opinion, state an opinion and contribute towards the overall plan is failing, so we are not going to have a situation where Aldo is not allowed to comment on the aerodynamics or Geoff is not allowed to comment on the chassis. It will not be like that, but clearly their day-to-day responsibilities are well defined.

Also contractually the opportunity to get people like Aldo and Geoff doesn't come along very often, and the stars lined up in terms of where our ambitions are and Aldo and Geoff became available.

Courtesy of Autosport

[Mr.S]

Continuation of that article. I'm carrying on from where JET ended.


Mercedes GP team boss Ross Brawn says that recent technical signings Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis can have an immediate positive effect on the squad's performances when they join, even though it will take time for the full impact of their presence to take effect.

Former Williams, BAR/Honda and Red Bull man Willis joins Mercedes as technology director next week, with ex-Ferrari technical chief Costa becoming Mercedes' engineering director from the start of December. They will work under technical director Bob Bell, formerly of Renault, who joined Mercedes earlier this year.

Although Willis and Costa's arrival will be too late for them to have a great influence on Mercedes' 2012 car, Brawn is optimistic about the boost their presence can give.

"It will take a while, but so much stuff goes on when you sit down and debate issues with the car, with someone with that calibre and experience, they can have an effect straight away," said Brawn.

"In terms of philosophy of the car it will take a while before their influences feed in, but in many ways they will have the effect that they want."

Although Mercedes has yet to win a race in its current guise and has rarely been a threat to Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari this year, Brawn is pleased that it has managed to stabilise the distance to the teams ahead.

"We are behind where we want to be, but we have managed to close that gap," he said.

"We do a reasonable amount of analysis to understand where we are. We got worse about a third of the way through the season and then got back.

"The fact that we have managed to keep the gap down while we know Red Bull and McLaren were in the middle of the development way, that is a tribute to the developments we have made.

"You see some of the teams who have not made many developments have fallen behind us, and that is the vicious thing about F1 - that standing still is falling backwards. We have to introduce a step change in our performance to be fully competitive."

Asked whether that step was possible in 2012, Brawn replied:

"Some of it, yes. Whether we can achieve all of it, that is a big step to make. But some of it we will do next year."

[Mr.S]

Ominous sings. Looks like Bell & Costa have been working independently & have been passing definite ideas. When Brawn & Bell met Costa they must have discussed the 2012 car in detail. Otherwise how could Costa joining in on December have any impact on a car set to be used for pre-season testing in 1st week of february.


Some under the table tactics seem at work. To me it looks likes both Willis & Costa have given detailed ideas to Bob Bell.

BTW Willis joins MERCEDES GP next week.

[Morteza]

With effect from 1 January 2012, the global sport lifestyle brand becomes the team’s exclusive licensing partner for footwear, apparel and accessories, and an official Team Partner. The agreement incorporates branding locations for PUMA on the MGP W03, the team’s 2012 race car, and on all race and teamwear products.


Through the new partnership, PUMA will develop MERCEDES GP PETRONAS licensed products for global sales and distribution. A strong emphasis will be placed on sales performance of the range in mature motorsport markets, and as the Formula One race calendar continues to expand into new markets, this sales focus will grow globally.


PUMA will also provide the team with its latest innovations in fireproof racewear for the drivers and pit crew. PUMA’s development of fire retardant technology has helped revolutionise driver racewear by dramatically reducing weight, while maintaining optimal performance in safety and comfort.


Ross Brawn, Team Principal at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS commented: “PUMA has a long and successful heritage in motorsport and, having worked with them previously in Formula One, I know their technical performance innovations for racewear are amongst the best in the industry, which is of course critical to our racing operation. PUMA’s global capability to design, develop and distribute licensed products for fans of the Silver Arrows around the world is equally impressive. This is a key partnership for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS, and one we are delighted to have established.”


Christian Voigt, Senior Head of Global Sports Marketing at PUMA said: “PUMA is fully committed to motorsport for the long term, and signing this partnership with the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team is a major statement for us as a brand. Mercedes-Benz has such a rich heritage in motorsport and MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is an exciting continuation of this story. With such talented drivers and team personnel, it’s clear they are destined for great things in the years to come. Combining our experience in licensed product development and distribution with the brand equity of the team has significant commercial benefits for both parties, and is another strong basis for this new partnership.”


PUMA

PUMA is one of the world’s leading sport lifestyle companies that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. It is committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity, SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the principles of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance and Lifestyle labels include categories such as Football, Running, Motorsports, Golf and Sailing. Sport Fashion features collaborations with renowned designer labels such as Alexander McQueen, Mihara Yasuhiro and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA and Tretorn. The company, which was founded in 1948, distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 9,000 people worldwide and has headquarters in Germany, Boston, London and Hong Kong.

So they are dumping Alpinestars. In 2011 only Ferrari wears Puma clothing products. Last they were RBR's sponsor as well, but for 2011 RBR switched to Alpinestars. BTW, aren't Puma sponsoring Mercedes DTM teams as well?

[xpensive]

.....moving on.
...
Questions asked as to the structure are answered pretty emphatically too:

I can understand the comments about too many cooks.
I think the important thing is to have a clear structure in terms of who does what. We have taken time with both Aldo and Geoff to discuss and define the structure, to make sure that lines of reponsibility and lines of authority are very clearly stated.I think any team that doesn't allow its people to have an opinion, state an opinion and contribute towards the overall plan is failing, so we are not going to have a situation where Aldo is not allowed to comment on the aerodynamics or Geoff is not allowed to comment on the chassis. It will not be like that, but clearly their day-to-day responsibilities are well defined.

Also contractually the opportunity to get people like Aldo and Geoff doesn't come along very often, and the stars lined up in terms of where our ambitions are and Aldo and Geoff became available.

Courtesy of Autosport

This reminds me of an Autosport interview with John Barnard in 1995, or perhaps in 1996, when he cherfully admits to have an autocratic approach to his job with something like this;

"I always have time to listen to everyone in the room, but at the end of the day, it's me who draws the line in the sand."

I'm glad to see that Bob Bell is given a similar mandate, why I seriously hope he can shoulder it.

[Ferraripilot]

Brawn must read f1technical. That is the only explanation for the clarity of his answers to what has been discussed here

[marcush.]

minf you ,it´s not all rubbish here...and Ross words allow for a little bit of optimism already for 2012.

I do fuly agree on the potential impact of people in detail or daily problem solving issues on the day of arrival.But that´s not what they need to be winning.
That effect will be visible only later next year with the upgrades and fully only with 2013s car.
The good thing is they will have geled as a team before the new set of rules is in place.

[Ferraripilot]

minf you ,it´s not all rubbish here...and Ross words allow for a little bit of optimism already for 2012.

I do fuly agree on the potential impact of people in detail or daily problem solving issues on the day of arrival.But that´s not what they need to be winning.
That effect will be visible only later next year with the upgrades and fully only with 2013s car.
The good thing is they will have geled as a team before the new set of rules is in place.

Precisely my thoughts.


Interesting that Puma is with MB now. They must have a lot of confidence in their long-term goals. Will they remain as Ferrari's supplier as well?

[xpensive]

Again, I believe MGP's future success is to a great xtent dependant on Bob Bell's ability to wear his pants in his own house.

With the likes of Costa, Willis and Bigois reporting to him and a boss like Ross Brawn, this will be a job that asks a lot from a management perspective.

As for Puma, what am I supposed to do with all my gym-wear, what's your size JET?

[Ferraripilot]

Again, I believe MGP's future success is to a great xtent dependant on Bob Bell's ability to wear his pants in his own house.

With the likes of Costa, Willis and Bigois reporting to him and a boss like Ross Brawn, this will be a job that asks a lot from a management perspective.

As for Puma, what am I supposed to do with all my gym-wear, what's your size JET?

Brawn managed a team like this before, I see no difference. Especially considering Brawn has worked with some of these guys before. The question now will be if they can take Bell's W03 project and turn it into a winner, or will we have to wait until W04 to see what this team can really do.

[donskar]

"You see some of the teams who have not made many developments have fallen behind us, and that is the vicious thing about F1 - that standing still is falling backwards. We have to introduce a step change in our performance to be fully competitive."

-- Ross Brawn

If I were signing Ross Brawn's paychecks I think I'd ask him who the *!@%!#$ he defines as his targets. Then I'd tell him not to concern himself with "some of the teams who . . . have fallen behind us." Those teams are irrelevant to the F1 podium and to the team's success. I'd keep the questions clear and pointed: How far are we behind RBR, McL and Ferrari? What developments are planned? When? What is the predicted effect of those developments? Sit with your tech staff and come back with an estimate as to when we will be competing for wins? What do you need to win? F1 is a business and any savvy businessman will understand these questions and will have answers ready immediately or very quickly. What an incredible waste of talent, time, and money.

[Cocles]

"You see some of the teams who have not made many developments have fallen behind us, and that is the vicious thing about F1 - that standing still is falling backwards. We have to introduce a step change in our performance to be fully competitive."

-- Ross Brawn

If I were signing Ross Brawn's paychecks I think I'd ask him who the *!@%!#$ he defines as his targets. Then I'd tell him not to concern himself with "some of the teams who . . . have fallen behind us." Those teams are irrelevant to the F1 podium and to the team's success. I'd keep the questions clear and pointed: How far are we behind RBR, McL and Ferrari? What developments are planned? When? What is the predicted effect of those developments? Sit with your tech staff and come back with an estimate as to when we will be competing for wins? What do you need to win? F1 is a business and any savvy businessman will understand these questions and will have answers ready immediately or very quickly. What an incredible waste of talent, time, and money.

You took that quote a bit out of context. He *was* referring to McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull, mentioning that Mercedes was at least maintaining a consistent gap with those teams, despite the upgrades those teams had brought to the table. Mercedes now needed to start gaining on those three teams instead of just "keeping pace". Then, almost as a side comment, he mentioned that by even just keeping their gap consistent, they had left some other teams behind them that at the beginning of the season were neck and neck with them in performance (Renault).

[xpensive]

A tad frustrating it is with members who don't bother to read the post responding to before they decide to disagree.

What I'm obviously referring to is Bob Bell's new job-description, to manage three former Technical Directors, something which could prove to be quite a challenge.

@Don;
You know what life's like, if you have a cold but meet someone with pneumonia, you suddenly feel a lot better.