cplchanb wrote: ↑21 Feb 2024, 19:17
DGP123 wrote: ↑21 Feb 2024, 17:13
mzivtins wrote: ↑21 Feb 2024, 16:33
Hope at what? WDC? No hope
Hope to beat Macca/Farrari? Likely no.
I know you can go onboard and see the car looks stable now, but when you consider how slow the car is going relative to the Macca and RB its no surprise the car looks stable.
When pushed it is a clear mess, and when you look at the mini sectors of the fastest laps for NOR and VER you can very clearly see they are no where near pushing it, so by rights Merc are nowhere near pushing it but still showing signs of poor drivability, just the same as the last 2 years.
It does not look good at all.
Bang on, unfortunately
To expect Allison to come in from the cold, and cook up an entirely new concept, and be on the money, was always a long shot.
Think Merc go backwards this year, given McL won’t be starting from the back this year. Third or fourth in the WCC, most likely the best outcome this year.
The team ballsed up this regulation. End of.
im going to save this post until the end of the year. lets see who will eat their socks.
Considering Merc is introducing a new design concept and chassis, there will be plenty of data and information for the team to digest. So their test objective will be very different.
The Merc are unlikely they be able to challenge RBR or the other big teams in the first part of the season, but very likely they will be the most improved team of the year. Just like McLaren in 2023.