Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 2013

[mep]

fric is not aero in itself but one of its main benefits is pitch control of the car and that is almost entirely driven by aero needs (rake - pitch stability under dynmic loads will help you to keep the car in favoured areas of the aeromap of the car)
with a groundeffect car vertical response of the car is always there to help aero first and then only to help other needs one might have.

Sorry that I have to disagree but it is for aero as almost everything in F1 is for aero.

[marcush.]

fric is not aero in itself but one of its main benefits is pitch control of the car and that is almost entirely driven by aero needs (rake - pitch stability under dynmic loads will help you to keep the car in favoured areas of the aeromap of the car)
with a groundeffect car vertical response of the car is always there to help aero first and then only to help other needs one might have.

Sorry that I have to disagree but it is for aero as almost everything in F1 is for aero.

As i said ...

[Morteza]

Agreement has been reached between MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for Paddy Lowe to join the team on 3 June.
Paddy will strengthen MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS in the role of Executive Director (Technical) and will work closely with Team Principal, Ross Brawn; Executive Director (Business), Toto Wolff; and the team’s senior technical management. As Team Principal, Ross Brawn will retain overall responsibility for technical and sporting matters.
Paddy Lowe commented: “I am excited to become part of a highly talented and capable technical organisation. The team has already produced probably the fastest car of the 2013 season while the technical challenges of the new regulations for 2014 will give us the opportunity to maximise the synergies available to a works manufacturer. That is a challenge I am relishing. I have worked closely with Mercedes-Benz for almost 20 years and deeply admire the company’s phenomenal commitment to Formula One. I look forward to much success together in the years ahead.”
Team Principal Ross Brawn commented: “I am delighted to welcome Paddy to the team and to begin working together. He has an excellent record of success in the sport and would be an asset to any of our rivals in the pit lane. It is no secret that every team is facing a significant balancing act between this year and next. But it is perhaps less obvious that we will also see major changes for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, as development progresses with the new generation of car design and Power Unit. To deliver in these circumstances, a successful team needs strength in depth. Paddy’s arrival will further strengthen our organisation and puts us in a strong position for the future.”

http://www.f1technical.net/news/18406

[kooleracer]

Agreement, something to do with the price of the power unit in 2014 i would imagine. Because normaly Paddy would be on leave for a hole year. Win win situation for Merc and Mclaren. Paddy can help build the 2014 car and McLaren has to pay less for their 2014 power unit.

[Shakeman]

Get him to work on the tyre situation ASAP!

Clearly it's one area the McLaren is not troubled by as their race pace is fine.

[astracrazy]

i'd imagine he'd work on the 2014 car not this years

[yener]

Get him to work on the tyre situation ASAP!

Clearly it's one area the McLaren is not troubled by as their race pace is fine.

They also hoped and expected that Aldo and Bob would fix the tyre problem. Didnt happen and i don't believe it will hapen now.

[beelsebob]

Get him to work on the tyre situation ASAP!

Clearly it's one area the McLaren is not troubled by as their race pace is fine.

They also hoped and expected that Aldo and Bob would fix the tyre problem. Didnt happen and i don't believe it will hapen now.

I honestly bet that the tyre problem is unfixable until next year.

My pet bet is that the engine maps they chose for last year are sub optimal, and that they're bound into them until the new engines appear.

[Richard]

The job title infers he's parallel to Toto, a place on the board alongside Toto & Lauda to ensure overall strategy, governance and oversight, but not day to engineering? It reminds me of football clubs who appoint a Football or Sporting Director to the board to guide development of the club.

So we have:
MBF1 Board - includes Brawn, Lauda, Toto, Lowe
MBF1 Design - Bell (TD) with Willis & Costa as deputies.

While I can understand why it would be good to have a wise old head on the board like Barnard or Murray, I wouldn't have thought that it a role for an active TD at the top of his career?

ps - In checking the spelling of "Barnard", I found there is someone who name is "Bernard Ferrari" ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_T._Ferrari

[Pup]

Paddy can help build the 2014 car and McLaren has to pay less for their 2014 power unit.

Less than zero? I'm sure McLaren got something for the deal, though with their relationship with Mercedes as it is, I can't imagine what.

[Clew]

With Paddy going to Mercedes, what is McLaren going to look like in year 2017....and onwards?

[myurr]

Paddy can help build the 2014 car and McLaren has to pay less for their 2014 power unit.

Less than zero? I'm sure McLaren got something for the deal, though with their relationship with Mercedes as it is, I can't imagine what.

I thought that McLaren had to start paying in either 2013 or 2014 under the agreement when the two split. But regardless it could be that McLaren now have assurances about not being frozen out of engineering decisions or having data limited next year now that they're confirmed to be partnering with Honda.

[Pup]

I don't know. I've seen it reported both ways - either free, or one where I saw it was $10m/yr.

Regardless, I'm surprised if McLaren took money for the deal. Just reading between the lines from interviews, there seems to be a lot of bitterness over Hamilton and Lowe. I don't suppose they'd have negotiated some sort of technical exchange? It seems like both parties would benefit from each others' suspension know-how. Dennis had negotiated something like that with Ferrari before the Stepney thing I remember - it was a "let's work to keep the two of us on top" sort of thing. Wild (and idle) speculation of course.

I'm also surprised that Merc does indeed seem to want Lowe badly. It had seemed to me that Wolf was happily surprised with the staff he found at Merc and so wasn't sure what to do with Lowe. I almost thought that he was regretting his decision to hire him.

[Shakeman]

So we have:
MBF1 Board - includes Brawn, Lauda, Toto, Lowe


While I can understand why it would be good to have a wise old head on the board like Barnard or Murray, I wouldn't have thought that it a role for an active TD at the top of his career?

Looks to me like that's a holding position for Lowe until Brawn retires. The handover starts now.

But...I'd still expect Merc to immediately use any IP that's useful to either rectify the 2013 tyre situation or arrest the damage on race day.

The Merc engine maps might be sub par but there might also be a trick to the setup for these tyres that has so far eluded Merc.

[myurr]

I don't know. I've seen it reported both ways - either free, or one where I saw it was $10m/yr.

Regardless, I'm surprised if McLaren took money for the deal. Just reading between the lines from interviews, there seems to be a lot of bitterness over Hamilton and Lowe. I don't suppose they'd have negotiated some sort of technical exchange? It seems like both parties would benefit from each others' suspension know-how. Dennis had negotiated something like that with Ferrari before the Stepney thing I remember - it was a "let's work to keep the two of us on top" sort of thing. Wild (and idle) speculation of course.

I'm also surprised that Merc does indeed seem to want Lowe badly. It had seemed to me that Wolf was happily surprised with the staff he found at Merc and so wasn't sure what to do with Lowe. I almost thought that he was regretting his decision to hire him.

According to James Allen it was all about 2014 engines and appeasing Mercedes with regards to Honda learning from their data and designs.

Lowe may not be as celebrated as Newey but he's still a top flight technical director who has built championship winning cars. I think any team would welcome his arrival, and clearly Mercedes are stronger with him being there. Again as Allen points out he now arrives in time to help manage and prepare the team for next year which is a nice bonus at a time when teams are struggling to balance the split of resources between this year and next.