Mercedes AMG F1 W03 (pre-launch speculation)

[kris]

Is that a reflection on the tip of the nose or is it the now legendary FW f-duct?

[gonzo_sbz]

Good

[Tyler]

Very stepped nose there, looks a bit like the Ferrari.

Any thoughts about exhausts? Whats the black area just above the "P" from Petronas? Too far forward to be an exhaust??

Looks like the exhaust to me - wouldn't be too far forward

[Mandrake]

Sidepods look a lot better than last year!

Secondary inlet as last year.

I think the dark material is where the exhaust is rooted below, leading to an exit a la Red Bull. I think you can expect the exhaust to exit close to Redbull's exit location.

I believe the stepped nose will not be as square as Ferrari's, more like the Caterham with ridges, but impossible to see from this angle.

Looks a lot nicer than the W02 and a lot better than most of the other '12 cars.

[NewtonMeter]

that exhaust outlet will be problematic to make work

Maybe that's why they needed an extra 2 weeks?

[Owen.C93]

Sidepods look a lot better than last year!

Secondary inlet as last year.

I think the dark material is where the exhaust is rooted below, leading to an exit a la Red Bull. I think you can expect the exhaust to exit close to Redbull's exit location.

Looks more like Sauber exhaust than RBR for sure.

[ovidiulucaci]

I'm dissapointed with that design. Nothing spectacular, like all the cars on the grid.
What's there to hide?

[Mandrake]

You could be right Owen, it maybe starts where the black bits start...but far more towards the car's centre than the Sauber.

I'm impressed by Yace's mockup though, the sidepods are very accurate....and all that just from blurry images. Well done Yace!

[Gerhardsa]

Sidepods look a lot better than last year!

Secondary inlet as last year.

I think the dark material is where the exhaust is rooted below, leading to an exit a la Red Bull. I think you can expect the exhaust to exit close to Redbull's exit location.

I believe the stepped nose will not be as square as Ferrari's, more like the Caterham with ridges, but impossible to see from this angle.

Looks a lot nicer than the W02 and a lot better than most of the other '12 cars.

The nose does not look as flat as the other cars'. Seems more "rounded" on top leading into the step... F duct is on this nose it seems (obviously the splitter inside cannot be seen, but i think its safe to assume its on the cars new nose/front wing)

[Tyler]

At least the sidepods look a lot sleeker than those fat ones on the W02.
It looks like an evolution of the W02, which seems to be the way to go.
The teams that have evolved last years car have the benefit of honing the good features and eliminating the bad and seem to be having a much easier time of things (Lotus, Red Bull) than those who have gone for revolution (Ferrari).
This fits with Schumi's comments of the team building towards a really good car.
I think if they have anything to hide it's probably more to do with the inner workings of the car than something that's immediately obvious from the outside.

[wjpbill]

Well I guess that they'll have to launch today now as no point holding back whatever it is they've got to tackle RBR.

Newey must be quite happy with nice hi-res pictures being handed out....

[gonzo_sbz]

Looks like push rod suspension in front.....?

[pocketmoon]

fyi ScarbsF1 is tweating

Mercedes W03: Exhaust exit far forwards and trail over top of sidepods and through rear suspension http://bit.ly/zfbc2B

Mercedes W03: Brawn-esque roll hoop, rounded heavily undercut sidepods, roll hoop inlet for gearbox cooling http://bit.ly/zfbc2B

Mercedes W03: tiny rounded nose makes the step look even bigger, pushrod front susp, http://bit.ly/zfbc2B via @f1fanatic_co_uk

I'm sure you ALL following him already

[Mandrake]

I'm dissapointed with that design. Nothing spectacular, like all the cars on the grid.
What's there to hide?

What do you want to see spectacular about it? The nose is not visible in detail, so we cannot see if it's spectacular. The Sidepods look very good to me, different from the other teams and heading into the right direction coming from the W02.

Overall I'm more satisfied with its looks than I was with the W03. Surely, look doesn't tell about performance, but the major design flaws this board discovered for the W02 have been improved quite a lot.....now if only the build quality is up to Mercedes standards a lot of discussion ground is nullified

I also think the front suspension is mounted very low....there is so much space towards to top of the bulkhead

[yace]

thanx bro!

the rear is disappointing