Mercedes GP W02

[Pierce89]

The difference this year is that the updates they bring are actually productive. Last year they brought updates and went backwards or they did nothing. MB has definitely made a step this year. However their updates this season do need to be major or they will not be competitive. For instance Mclaren brought some 10-12 updates and are simply on fire regarding this year's arms race with Red Bull.

Really? on Fire? If anyone is on fire it is Vettel. It's truly impressive how he's seperated himself from Webber

[bot6]

A little less impressive considering he needed driver assistance to catch up with him last year. That retarded ignition engine map seems to work really well for him, but not for Mark oddly.

But back to the W02, do we have any more pics of the new engine cover? And it might just be me, but it seems that the sidepods are tighter at the back than they were before.

Maybe they just brought to Monaco the bodywork update that was planned for Barcelona?

[bot6]

Just because it's a nice picture.

And no snorkels on the sidepods.

[marcush.]

Campared to last year they have not really made the big step forward .In fact Rosberg has 26points when he had 50 last year and Schumacher has 14 when he had 22 last season after 5 races.
Only Petrovs much improved form has swung around the situation between Mercedes and Renault on the points table.
But Monaco they need really really a double points finish to remain creditable or even a podium...The big difference to last year is of course RedBull are translating their potential into results and Hamilton does so as well.That´s an awful lot of points they got served on a plate last year.

[Lorenzo_Bandini]

You can't compare. Last year, Mercedes had more point because of Red Bull failure or mistake and the rain at China or Australia.

The same can be said for Renault.

[bot6]

Also, last year they made the most of a fundamentally bad base. This year, they seem to have a good base that they haven't quite figured out how to use yet.

So let's wait and see...

[NewtonMeter]

Campared to last year they have not really made the big step forward .In fact Rosberg has 26points when he had 50 last year and Schumacher has 14 when he had 22 last season after 5 races.
Only Petrovs much improved form has swung around the situation between Mercedes and Renault on the points table.
But Monaco they need really really a double points finish to remain creditable or even a podium...The big difference to last year is of course RedBull are translating their potential into results and Hamilton does so as well.That´s an awful lot of points they got served on a plate last year.

Have to agree. I look at the amount of time finished after the leader, and the stats are as follows (times: nico/michael):

2010
1st race: 40.2/44.1
2nd race: 16.6/69.3
3rd race: 13.5/DNF
4th race: 9.4/61.7
5th race: 62.1/1 Lap

2011
1st race: DNF/DNF
2nd race: 1 Lap/84.8
3rd race: 13.4/31.0
4th race: 47.5/85.4
5th race: 1 Lap/1 Lap

Doesn't look good so far, does it?
Disclaimer: I still wish them the very best and hope they turn their season around.

[Lorenzo_Bandini]

You can't take that too. It's irrevelant because for example, at Spain i don't think Schumacher push hard to pass Alonso, because he was already far behind him, so he have just to bring the car home.

At Sepang last year, Rosberg was third because of bad choice of Mclaren and Ferrari during the quali.. Alonso or Hamilton was way faster than Rosberg during the race, Alonso have a big problem with his gear box..

At China, Red Bull had problem during the race too...

This year Red Bull or Mclaren had no problem, they made no mistake, they had improve a lot than last year.

IMHO, Red Bull and Mclaren improved a lot, Mercedes improved too, but Ferrari and Renault didn't.

[NewtonMeter]

You can't take that too. It's irrevelant because for example, at Spain i don't think Schumacher push hard to pass Alonso, because he was already far behind him, so he have just to bring the car home.

At Sepang last year, Rosberg was third because of bad choice of Mclaren and Ferrari during the quali.. Alonso or Hamilton was way faster than Rosberg during the race, Alonso have a big problem with his gear box..

At China, Red Bull had problem during the race too...

This year Red Bull or Mclaren had no problem, they made no mistake, they had improve a lot than last year.

IMHO, Red Bull and Mclaren improved a lot, Mercedes improved too, but Ferrari and Renault didn't.

So how do you suggest we measure relative performance then?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

The only updates Mercedes have are cooling related.

The one off nature off Monaco will have its own requirments for cooling, its stop start character is unique.
Also, updates will not show up as well here as they would elsewhere. Teams may think a valid update not to be worthwhile as it doesnt show its true worth around a track like the Monte.

I dont see Mercedes adding anything major to the W02 for the rest of the year. I see them adding small refinements here and there that will make the car faster. Its a staged plan to do this as we saw the W01 fail when huge updates where added. Only when these updates where added one at a time did the team move forward.

I wait in baited breath to see what the W02 can do in Q2 and 3, because I hope I'am proved wrong regards the car struggling.

[dren]

I agree, I don't expect anything major for the rest of the year. The team doesn't have to though, there hasn't been a huge major development that everyone is jumping to like the F-Duct last year. The EBD the team already has.

Don't forget, this is the first year the team is running with KERS. They had teething issues with KERS and their unique cooling solutions. They are about a month behind on true performance upgrades. Red Bull is still having KERS issues, but they at least have a genuine fast car. Easier for them because it looks to be an evolution of last year's car.

One more issue is the tires and set-up for the Mercedes. The car can be very fast relative to the competition, but only in certain configurations. This is evident in qualification. The car last year wasn't capable of the fast times in any configuration.

[marcush.]

why should we not be able to compare? the facts are the facts and their claim to have a fundamentally better base has not put them into a better position yet.They are lagging behind.Don´t forget last year they claimed to be not quite there and had promised to turn things around with their upgrade packages .We all know what happened they started as the 4th force fighting with Renault and ended there.I cannot see a big difference between what was last year and this .The car lacks race speed ,and this is obvious from the gap opened up when the cars cross the line .It has not improved since last year.So their rate of successful development does match but not exceed the three in front and that´s what is really necessary to close the gap after all.

[Rikhart]

It´s staggering the amount of gills this car is developing, no other car has even half the number. How hard can it be to fix the damm internal arrangement to fix this?

[marcush.]

You can improve cooling by having a more area of heat exchange or by having the media move quicker....it seems they want to get more air through the sidepods to solve their issues .And one has to admit they are damn quick down the straights...so if their sidepod s are draggy something else must be damn good so they are still quick....The ÜBER -Benz engine,perhaps?

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Its not only the Benz V8 Marcush

Mercedes are better than they were last year, I think most will agree. Perhaps not in terms of results, but certainly in performance to the teams around them.

And you have to admit Mercedes have less to work with, being smaller. The final 2 or 3% is missing, but Mercedes needs to know where that final bit is lacking before they invest.
As the simulator get up and running we will see the W02 improve even more IMO.

The way Rosberg was driving yesterday was most impressive(Alonso was mightier though!) and the car looked stable in the areas that mattered during his fast laps. Under braking, through the swimming pool and round the casino and loews hairpin, the car required less input than the Ferrari time of Alonso(how that guy is sleeping at night I dont know! )

Over a lap the Ferrari is quicker apparently. But, over a race? I would bet the Mercedes W02 would not only be kinder on its tyres, but also on its driver.

Then again, its only FP2. But so far it looks alot better than I thought for Mercedes.