Mercedes GP 2011

[mx_tifoso]

As we have seen that the W02 thread becoming filled with team discussion, we've thought that directing said discussion to another thread would be beneficial. So it would be appreciated if the car thread(s) would be left for specific development throughout the season, as that has been the plan for the car threads all along. So from here onwards we will be moving all team oriented posts from the W02 thread over to here.

You guys are welcome to create one for other teams if such actions are believed to be necessary.

Cheers,
Mx_tifosi

[marcush.]

Let´s see if we got 2010 all over again or simply a plan that is panning out as outlined.
We have seen teams at the front in testing and nowherewhen the season started ,so what is needed now is some patience .It´s not actually fact that Mercedes is already done ,just because some people say so.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Autosport's latest magazine Headline:

Merc in the Mire!

However, there is a very subtle game going on here. Autosport need magazines to sell, and this is a big story IF Mercedes have faltered.

But this is the very next story on their online page, an full interview with Brawn with very interesting answers.

On where they are now:

"In the last test at Barcelona we had a go at running low fuel and the super-soft tyres and we were the second-quickest car, but I don't think that's where we are overall.I think we're about a second off where we want to be, and where we want to be is mixing it at the front. So we've got to find a second in the upgrade, which we think we can do but you never know what the others are going to do as well. Everybody's going to have new bits at Barcelona.

On what they have been doing:

If somebody does come through with a radical innovation that none of the other teams have thought about then it can change things, but we've set out our plan and we'll know when we get to Melbourne whether our plan was right. It's fun to speculate at the moment, but it's very difficult."

Brawn said he had no regrets about the approach Mercedes had taken to the winter.

"I think we said when we started that we had some things to learn with KERS and tyres and we were going to start with a fairly plain car, and you'll see in Barcelona something quite different.

On where he sees them going with the W02:

"We're as quietly confident as we can be. We think our strategy is correct, to approach it the way we have, and we'll all know when we get to the first race."

He added: "We may get egg on our face when we come to Melbourne if it hasn't all come together, but we're optimistic."

The team boss also insisted that Michael Schumacher was fully behind Mercedes' handling of the 2011 build-up and backed the squad's design strategy.

"He's part of it, he knows what we're doing and why we're doing it.

[dren]

We just have to wait for the package and the first race to see where the team is. I expect them to be in good position. The team has come with updates worth over 1 second a lap, I don't see why this shouldn't be expected now.

[ell66]

Let´s see if we got 2010 all over again or simply a plan that is panning out as outlined.
We have seen teams at the front in testing and nowherewhen the season started ,so what is needed now is some patience .It´s not actually fact that Mercedes is already done ,just because some people say so.

i say they'l be lucky to be as competetive as they were in 2010 ( 4th fastest)

[LionKing]

i say they'l be lucky to be as competetive as they were in 2010 ( 4th fastest)

Renault was definitely a better car than Mercedes last year. Their second driver's inability to bring in points masked this. Unfortunately Mercedes team does not infuse any confidence at all...

[Morteza]

I have a feeling that Mercedes are not even in the place they were last year!(I hope that I'm wrong) Williams and Renault has developed something new that we may call innovation, but Mercedes with their W02 we just see something plain. Brawn has told the media that they are one second off the pace, and they have big upgrades for Barcelona test, but will their upgrades bring them that one second or not? This year we can see that RB7 and F150th Italia are somehow evolutions of RB6 and F10. RB7 is the result of what Red Bull started in 2009 with RB5 and continued with the RB6 that dominated 2010(what Newey himself has stated). RB7 I believe is still the car to beat in 2011 . Mercedes started developing their 2011 car earlier than any other team and they have come up with W02. They have done either truly amazing or have completely messed things again! We cannot tell anything about their performance until the qualifying of the first race in Australia. The team has repeatedly stated that they have a plan, and everything is going according to it. They are calm, and there has not been any sign of worry about pace. Are they hiding something? We do not know, but they look confident with their plan. I hope they will do better this year, but it's gonna be tough.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

i say they'l be lucky to be as competetive as they were in 2010 ( 4th fastest)

Renault was definitely a better car than Mercedes last year. Their second driver's inability to bring in points masked this. Unfortunately Mercedes team does not infuse any confidence at all...

I disagree. The W01 was just as good in most races and markedly better at others. Where it fell down was on certain compounds the cars problems became magnified.
Renault had a slight advantage at tighter tracks like Hungary and monaco, but thats about it.
Overall Kubica couldnt match Rosberg, which I think he would have done in the same car.

[xpensive]

I agree with the above, when I'm afraid this can turn south with a bang. The wishful thoughts that MGP is sandbagging, wasting the pre-season on testing tires and KERS with an interim shitbox, waiting for the real thing is just that, wishful.

The images of the W02 discloses poor workmanship and a mindboggling lack of attention to detail for a 2011 F1 car.

Something has gone very, very wrong here, which I personally believe is stemming from a complete misunderstanding of RB's job-description as "Tecnical Director" at Benetton and Ferrari, when he is far more Director than ever Technical.

[dren]

I don't think anything has gone wrong. The W02 is a go between. The workmanship comments will only apply once the full spec car comes out. Brawn took the worst car on the grid and won a championship the next year. Then last year the team created a podium capable car. This year the team seems confident in their plan. They have stated it over and over and over and over in the media. I don't see what all the worry is about.

[Ferraripilot]

I agree with the above, when I'm afraid this can turn south with a bang. The wishful thoughts that MGP is sandbagging, wasting the pre-season on testing tires and KERS with an interim shitbox, waiting for the real thing is just that, wishful.

The images of the W02 discloses poor workmanship and a mindboggling lack of attention to detail for a 2011 F1 car.

Something has gone very, very wrong here, which I personally believe is stemming from a complete misunderstanding of RB's job-description as "Tecnical Director" at Benetton and Ferrari, when he is far more Director than ever Technical.

So, you're essentially stating Brawn and MB in general are liars for stating for many weeks now that their current car is an interim car? The expectation of 'interim' and 'plain' was set prior to testing. We will know if something is truly awry post 1 or 2 races, but until then let's pipe down and allow them to proceed with their plans. There's no need in being so presumptuous. Believe me, I will be the first one to point out something is truly awry later but for now, "The Sky is falling omgz" crowd is getting a bit out of hand.

Also, mindboggling attention to detail? Are you an F1 engineer moonlighting on F1technical? I haven't the audacity to call any F1 car on the grid lacking in attention to detail. wow

[xpensive]

Pretty much so, yes.

But no, I'm not active within F1 or anywhere near that state of quality, but I do work for a global outfit with some 130 000 employees, why I have a vague idea of how to value and judge various results of mechanical engineering.

Beholding the W02 in detail tells me a rather sad story, a story of people without proper management, where the money is handed out in a way too secure and certain fashion, the kind of office where people leave at 1600, work completed or not.

Believe me, the latter would never happen on my watch.

[red300zx99]

I don't get it. Did you not see MS long stint times? Or are you blind or what? MB is fine. I wont call it sandbagging or whatever, but come melbourne they will be in that top tier.

[marcush.]

I call this life under the microscope...even the tiniest slice of information will be used to bolster some preoccupied view.You could as well interpret things the other way round but you don´t need to .Maybe some will still say they are cons when they win a race ,but true they are not even near something like that ...but so are all the others if we are honest.The game will only start in Australia and australia is famous for springing up surprise frontrunners as well ..so we might get a better picture only even later.

[xpensive]

What we do know for certain, is that RB cheerfully admits to be about a second off the pace, while hoping to close that with promised developments. This would sound plausible, but also suggests that Ferrari, RBR and McLaren are standing still?