Mercedes GP W02

[bonjon1979]

Yes, that Ross Brawn famously ran underweight in Barcelona with the Brawn BG001, lighting up the timing screens with incredible times but we all knew the car was 20 kilos lighter and that come the first race of the season we'd see them disappear into the midfield....oh, wait a minute...

[Ferraripilot]

You must be thinking of Catalunya. Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia is very non-aero, and that's why a lot of people say it's not good for testing.

Thanks, you are certainly correct. I was viewing the wrong track!

[dbwmhn]

Here you can see all times of the last testday in comparison

http://f1tests.mine.nu/2011_1eng.php

[segedunum]

[...]

[Ferraripilot]

Barcelona testing day 2, 2010.

Driver: Sebastian Vettel; Car: RB6-01; Laps: 125; Best time: 1:21.258; Circuit length: 4.655 km; Fastest lap: N Hulkenburg (1:20.614)

We all know how this ends. RB6 was indeed looking very quick the final day of testing at Barcelona last year. I am going to hold off on any opinions regarding W02 until it has the 'race ready' aero pack together. Until then I don't think anything much matters.

[Ganxxta]

...
Not only was Schumacher that much slower than Sutil in a cobbled together car with 2011 bits but he was consistently that much slower than Kubica in a 2011 Renault.

...there was a sequence of 17 or so lap times posted for both Schumacher and Kubica. Obviously they could have been on different tyres and / or fuel loads, but to me it's a better comparison than just the headline times. On average Schumacher was about 0.5 seconds a lap quicker over the run, with an 8 second gap after 17 laps.

Sorry had to quote this

[Ferraripilot]

...
Not only was Schumacher that much slower than Sutil in a cobbled together car with 2011 bits but he was consistently that much slower than Kubica in a 2011 Renault.

...there was a sequence of 17 or so lap times posted for both Schumacher and Kubica. Obviously they could have been on different tyres and / or fuel loads, but to me it's a better comparison than just the headline times. On average Schumacher was about 0.5 seconds a lap quicker over the run, with an 8 second gap after 17 laps.

Sorry had to quote this

I was going to quote the same thing. It's difficult to compare, but it just proves that we have no idea what anyone is really up to just yet.

[ringo]

All i know is that Mercedes = Honda, and a tiger can't change his stripes.
They're going to have some bad habbits carrying over even though there is a name change to the team.
I wish them the best though, because the car looks like it has potential. There's nothing wrong on it, only that the rear is a little bulky, but the rest looks good.

I also think they can implement a mclaren style sidepod since their crash structures are in the middle of the radiator ducts. So there is definitely more to come.

slight correction. It is against regulations to have the side impact structure exposed to the free air stream. Therefore i don't know what the heck those black things are. Mercedes may not be able to follow mclaren then.

[mx_tifoso]

I have merged all of the recent posts related to the ARW over to the corresponding thread.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Haug laying down the gauntlet. Good to see =D>

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89348

[i70q7m7ghw]

Yes, that Ross Brawn famously ran underweight in Barcelona with the Brawn BG001, lighting up the timing screens with incredible times but we all knew the car was 20 kilos lighter and that come the first race of the season we'd see them disappear into the midfield....oh, wait a minute...

Sauber last year did the same.

[NewtonMeter]

Analysis from Amus:
Mercedes used only 4 sets of tyres during the test and the tanks were always full. During the long runs, the cars were near the front of the pack.

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 00294.html

I must admit to feeling somewhat relieved to read this...

Edit:
The opposition used 8 sets...

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

@ Nm

I told you not to be so pessimistic!

Well even though Mercedes were apparently quicker on the longer runs, it still means nothing.
You have to factor in what other teams are doing, or what they are bringing to the next few tests to increase their performance. Mercedes will be bringing some new things too, but the point is no one can say what time difference it is worth.

What makes me optimistic is when I look at the quicker teams like Renault Red Bull and Ferrari, they appear to have very well developed details specific for 2011.
Mercedes car still has what appears to be a modified front and rear wing from 2010. Who knows maybe they will use this for 2011?

But it looks better than this time last year as Auto Motor und Sport correctly said, exactly a year ago Schumacher said "It's going to be a long year". This time round and Mercedes are approaching this as if under the radar.

[bonjon1979]

Yes, that Ross Brawn famously ran underweight in Barcelona with the Brawn BG001, lighting up the timing screens with incredible times but we all knew the car was 20 kilos lighter and that come the first race of the season we'd see them disappear into the midfield....oh, wait a minute...

Sauber last year did the same.

??

[Ferraripilot]

Analysis from Amus:
Mercedes used only 4 sets of tyres during the test and the tanks were always full. During the long runs, the cars were near the front of the pack.

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 00294.html

I must admit to feeling somewhat relieved to read this...

Edit:
The opposition used 8 sets...

Very interesting. Thanks for posting. That is very few sets and proves they really were out to simply test tires and reliability.