Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 2013

[PlatinumZealot]

In regards to Gary Anderson and his flip-flopping opinion of the W04:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21417831

Seems like this guy can't make up his mind on whether or not he actually thinks the W04 is a decent car. This gives me hope it's not all fire and brimstone, but I've never been too keen on his opinions anyhow. We'll see if Lewis is still a lot slower than Nico after a few proper days in the car

Most engineers dont make their mind up at all even when a design is done and dusted.. I know I don't!
There is always something that shows its head up. And for that I respect Gary Anderson to the max...letting the numbers show him the way.

[PlatinumZealot]

Yeah because setting fastest times matter in testing...

Clearly that wasn't my point smart guy. We all know testing is worthless when it comes to trying to figure out a pecking order, especially the first test. I just think it's funny how GA was bashing W04 after the 3rd day of testing, and now all of the sudden he thinks it could be the third fastest car out there. And for clarification, I was being a bit facetious with the Lewis/Nico comparison... perhaps sarcasm should be put in italics or something so as to not confuse or anger you.

Gary's reasoning is sound. It may not give an accurate picture for melbourne, but it should be reasonable for Jerez...

[prince]

Yeah because setting fastest times matter in testing...

Clearly that wasn't my point smart guy. We all know testing is worthless when it comes to trying to figure out a pecking order, especially the first test. I just think it's funny how GA was bashing W04 after the 3rd day of testing, and now all of the sudden he thinks it could be the third fastest car out there. And for clarification, I was being a bit facetious with the Lewis/Nico comparison... perhaps sarcasm should be put in italics or something so as to not confuse or anger you.

Gary's reasoning is sound. It may not give an accurate picture for melbourne, but it should be reasonable for Jerez...

I am not sure if a lot of people have put their thoughts this way.

The W03 was quick car out of the box and the only problem was switching on the tyres in race with high fuel load, where it failed miserably. With new Pirellis (2013), I am sure a W03 would have been a very competitive car on a race day as these new tyres are designed to switch on faster.

The W04 did not born with 2012 brazil spec DNA. It was conceived, probably around late China or little before Monaco 2012. That being the case, although development stopped on W03 in the middle of the year, the work on W04 must have been continued in full steam. It is also a fact that, they were upgrading their wind tunnel model from 50% to 60%, but essentially the design for W04 should have swiftly moved forward. With lessons learnt through the 2012, the W04 design must have kept evolving by taking into account, the solutions for the W03 problems. Unlike many, who feels that W03 was a second and half slower than an RB8 or MP4-28 at the end of 2012 and hence it is takes a miracle to close that gap, I guess the W04 with its evolution has maintained the thin gap even today, what existed when it was conceived and got developed through the 2012 and I feel it continues to maintain a thin gap until now. So, once again if W04 comes out of the box as a faster and competitive car, I wouldn't be surprised.

[dren]

It was Brawn, Nico or Hamilton that said the car performance matched wind tunnel numbers. This is reassuring and good for development. They are where they expected to be. They still have a ways to go, as Brawn said.

[otbsti]

@Prince... that's an interesting thought on the development of the car. If you're spot on with it, it could explain how they have managed to claw back some of the deficit seen with W03. Hopefully lessons learned last year will help with development pace this year so the car is competitive year round. If they're a bit out of it though, I wonder when they will throw in the towel on 2013 and focus primarily on 2014.

[Shakeman]

I wonder when they will throw in the towel on 2013 and focus primarily on 2014.

You can bet your house that most teams are throwing all the resources they can at 2014 which will have already had an impact on the 2013 car. They will have already thrown in the towel on 2013 to some extent.

[liveforf1]

this is an amusing article which could potentially have an impact on 2014 car.

http://www.pitpass.com/48380-Lowe-Blow

[Cocles]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105552

"[Wolff] has set the team the target of a top-four finish in the 2013 constructors' championship."
"If the team finishes in the top four and is a regular frontrunner [that would be a good year]," he explained.

So there's the goal line from Stuttgart for 2013. Fourth in the WCC and ideally also a regular frontrunner.

[blokkie]

Well .. aren't all people who make public statements obliged to create some buzz around the performance of the car/team they work for?
Most of these pre-season statements are vague and always contain an exit.

Like Wolf : We are good , so good that aim for top-four finish
I read it like : We don't know yet how good we are compared to the rest but we want to be in the top-four because it's a sport and everybody want's to be the besst

And then the exit part :
Wolf said : If we do finish in top four .. we have done very well
I read that like : As I'm not sure we are as good as I say it would be great to finish top-four. But .. obviously .. when we are not as good as I say .. we will have a bad year .

Duh ..
non-statements
containing no value

it's not even wurth quoting ... But that's just my opinion.

[wunderkind]

I wonder when they will throw in the towel on 2013 and focus primarily on 2014.

You can bet your house that most teams are throwing all the resources they can at 2014 which will have already had an impact on the 2013 car. They will have already thrown in the towel on 2013 to some extent.

I think all teams will be developing their 2013 car with one eye on the 2014 season. That is, any component or area that will be or could be carried over to 2014 will be given priority and emphasis, whereas parts that will be outlawed or have little or no relevance in 2014 will be jettisoned. That is the sensible thing to do.

I can't see any teams writing off the 2013 season as we speak.

[prince]

I wonder when they will throw in the towel on 2013 and focus primarily on 2014.

You can bet your house that most teams are throwing all the resources they can at 2014 which will have already had an impact on the 2013 car. They will have already thrown in the towel on 2013 to some extent.

Merc is clearly seeing 2014 as an opportunity to be a title contender and hence a lot of people are already on that project I guess. Having said that, it is also very clear that, throwing in the towel for 2013 is not an option as Toto has highlighted. They would definitely want to make gains in 2013 and be sure that they are going to spend a lot of effort on 2013. They have done people and infrastructure changes last year and readily compromised on throwing in the towel as they took up the key wind tunnel model upgrade. They have no choice this year, except moving forward.

[FoxHound]

Duh ..
non-statements
containing no value

There is alot of value to take from what Wolff is saying. He is looking on with a motion to terminate those who do not fit the "Mercedes standard".
Haug did not have the same clout within the team, nor did he have the insight that Wolff has.

It's a clear message to those at the factory.
If Mercedes arent running 4th by August, Brawn will be gone along with anyone else performing to sub par standard.

[GrizzleBoy]

I think there's too much pressure on 2014 now.

Expectations are going to FAR outweigh anything they've experienced before.

There will be no question about driver abilities.

There will be no question about technical abilities.

There will be less question maybe about management.

Its going to be tough whether they are more successful or not.

[Shakeman]

I think there's too much pressure on 2014 now.

Expectations are going to FAR outweigh anything they've experienced before.

There will be no question about driver abilities.

There will be no question about technical abilities.

There will be less question maybe about management.

Its going to be tough whether they are more successful or not.

You could've been talking about Ferrari there or any of the top teams. If Merc are serious and want to compete with the likes of the top 3 then that comes with the pressure that those teams are subjected to each and every season.

Ferrari were given a public lambasting at the beginning of last season and their car was way better than Merc's. The Merc board expects...

If any of the top three slipped down to Merc levels heads would roll and quickly too and if 2014 is a disaster for Merc and all the excuses will be used up so I don't think they'll be in F1 in 2015.

[Cocles]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105564

Even though this is an interview with Horner, I found it interesting in terms of Mercedes-Benz when Horner mentioned that the big ace the works teams have up their sleeve is engine integration. I'm sure a lot of us here are saying, "Well... duh." What it also does though is shine a spot light on why we haven't seen Bob Bell, and adds a very important context to his work:

Bob Bell is in charge of ensuring that Mercedes harnesses the advantage is has by being a works team. He's in charge of the ace up their sleeve. Engine integration.

Only two other teams have that advantage: Ferrari, and RedBull (Renault).