Team: Bob Bell (TD), Aldo Costa (ED), Geoff Willis (Technology Director), Andrew Shovlin (CRE), Simon Cole (CTE), Ron Meadows (SD), Matthew Deane (CM), Ross Brawn (TP), Nick Fry (CEO), Toto Wolff (Exec Director), Andy Cowell (MD of powertrain),
Drivers: Nico Rosberg (9), Lewis Hamilton (10)
Team name: Mercedes AMG Petronas
That's hard to say. The car essentially looks the same as last year's W03, which was a disapointing car (concept?). They didn't go for diffrent design which to me means that they are more focused towards 2014 and this year they will be just crusing.dren wrote:Where will they find more DF on the W04? The refined sidepod exhaust outlets likely helped a bit at the rear.
Lewis said that the car lacks downforce compared to last year's McLarenrichard_leeds wrote:We don't know if the W04 has more or less DF compared to other cars unless someone has CFD vision. Also we've only had the first round of tests, so we don't even know how fast it is compared to other cars. We don't know if its tyres wear more than others. We'll need a few races before we know its relative performance, and even that'll be conjecture.
The car might look the same but it isn't...there are a lot of changes to last year's W03... subtle changes, probably not enough to gain the performance they need, but changes none the lesskorzeniow wrote:That's hard to say. The car essentially looks the same as last year's W03, which was a disapointing car (concept?). They didn't go for diffrent design which to me means that they are more focused towards 2014 and this year they will be just crusing.dren wrote:Where will they find more DF on the W04? The refined sidepod exhaust outlets likely helped a bit at the rear.
You can't really use the first version of the car to say if the car has good or bad downforce. All that you see in the first day of testing is a 2013 chassis, with 2012 floor and wings... Correct me if I;m wrong, but I am pretty sure the chassis doesn't make so much downforce on its own.. so pretty much you can only judge the W04 when all the 2013 parts are bolted on.korzeniow wrote:Lewis said that the car lacks downforce compared to last year's McLarenrichard_leeds wrote:We don't know if the W04 has more or less DF compared to other cars unless someone has CFD vision. Also we've only had the first round of tests, so we don't even know how fast it is compared to other cars. We don't know if its tyres wear more than others. We'll need a few races before we know its relative performance, and even that'll be conjecture.
Here you have a closer shot of the front wing:n smikle wrote:Yeah, they look professional. I am liking the front wing in this shot:Testarossa2012 wrote:Hi, pals. I was in Jerez the last day of the test. They after Lewis crashed his car because of the brake fail.
These are some pictures I shot:
I hope you like them!
http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... =4&t=14662 
The floor on the car is new compared to last year, I'm assuming you mean diffuser/floor. I do expect an updated rear wing and some strakes on the top of the floor. Where did Lewis say the updates improved the DF?n smikle wrote:You can't really use the first version of the car to say if the car has good or bad downforce. All that you see in the first day of testing is a 2013 chassis, with 2012 floor and wings... Correct me if I;m wrong, but I am pretty sure the chassis doesn't make so much downforce on its own.. so pretty much you can only judge the W04 when all the 2013 parts are bolted on.
Meredes had an upgraded car on Friday which included a 2013 front wing and 2013 rear engine cover. Hamilton said then that the car had much improved downforce.
Button has said the same thing about this years McLaren !korzeniow wrote:Lewis said that the car lacks downforce compared to last year's McLaren
He always said he did not expect miracles. I don't think it's contradicting. The new W04 is surely a good step forward from the W03, but not enough to match the best car of last GP, which was only 2 and a half months ago. It is as simple as that, I believe.turbof1 wrote:Lewis also said the car is exactly where he hoped it to be. I kinda feel like the 2 statements are a bit contradicting eachother. Surely you aren't hoping that your new car has less DF then your previous?
Lewis is an earnest guy and a brilliant driver, but he talks a lot and doesn't necessarily know what he's on about sometimes. ("That was the best race I've ever driven.")turbof1 wrote:Lewis also said the car is exactly where he hoped it to be. I kinda feel like the 2 statements are a bit contradicting eachother. Surely you aren't hoping that your new car has less DF then your previous?
I wonder if his relationship with Haug is coloring his opinion here. Regardless, I'd think he'd find it hard to collect a paycheck from Mercedes while tipping the the team that's slowly but surely becoming their arch rival.Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen does not expect Mercedes to be fighting at the front of the field this season, explaining that the Brackley-based team's new car is slower than he had anticipated. Following the opening test at Jerez, the Finn instead expects Lewis Hamilton's former outfit, McLaren, to set the pace.
"I have a strong feeling that McLaren is in top form this year," Häkkinen said during an interview with the BBC on Tuesday. "As we saw at testing in Jerez, the Mercedes wasn't as fast as I expected them to be, so I don't see them competing too much this year."
