Mercedes AMG F1 W03 (pre-launch speculation)

[mcjamweasel]

Seems to me that they'd actually be quite comfortable. Not saying that it won't beat you up (not exactly a 'cushy' ride), or that it's not physically demanding to drive, but the seating position itself looks pretty comfortable

In the modern F1 car your feet are higher than your hips and very pinched...Not what I would call comfortable. The FF I've driven has a flat floor with your feet more or less straight in front of you.

The '96 Forte Corse that I drove was certainly not comfortable. The tight legs and lack of footroom is definitely not pleasant even at a standstill, never mind when you're getting thrown about and hitting the bumps.

[dren]

They are not U-Pods, just look at the pictures. Also, check out the mirror pictures.

[raymondu999]

I never said they were U-pods.

[Richard]

lower undercut sidepods

Low AND undercut? I'm not sure they can have both. If the top move down then the undercut has to reduce, or vice versa.

I admit that radiator size would vary between teams, but unless there is a radical new technology they'll need similar total radiator area.

[dren]

I never said they were U-pods.

Sorry, that was at JET.

The step in the nose may not be as blunt as it looks in the pictures. The silver color with the rounded top may cut deeper into the bulkhead than it looks. I think it may be closer to the W02, just cut in deeper.

[raymondu999]

Aha. Gotcha. I thought you were replying to my post.

[Tyler]

I'm not worried that it looks conservative.
Look at the Lotus - everyone complained about how conservative and similar to last years car it looked yet it looked fast in Jerez.
Often there's no need to change the whole car and it's better to instead change the parts that you know are giving you troubles - e.g. the sidepods have been made much sleeker and lower.
With the rules changing so little and with EBD gone maybe Merc will find themselves in a good position with a car they understand minus a lot of the negatives from the W02.
I think that the field will be much closer this year and with EBD and DDD's gone, the teams that understand how to set up their car to maximise their performance will do well - clever innovations won't play the part they did during the last 2 years.
By the looks of those sidepods they've solved a lot of their cooling problems and can focus on wringing as much performance from the car as possible from the get go instead of messing around for months on issues like cooling.
I don't buy into the theory that the W02 was a complete dog that should have been tossed completely - even with it's fat sidepods, gills all over the show and cooling issues it was the fourth fastest car - it clearly had something going for it.
I'm willing to bet that Merc will start the season with a better understanding of their car than they had last year and as such in a better position.
Not sure about Red Bull and even Lotus but I'm quietly optimistic that the W03 will at least start off ahead of Ferrari and McLaren.

[Mestrades]

I too was hoping to see something revolutionary or at least different enough to justify -1) early start of development, -2) missing first test and -3) confirmation of the teams assertion that development time was more important than testing.

While very early, and with no true indication of where the team stands- I "see" nothing that stikes me as exciting or more innovative than any other midfield or top team. Perhaps that "step forward" is not obvious (and a good thing) and it remains my hope that they've had better success this year versus the last 2. The teams own comments are not leading me to expect much.

It seems to me that last year, McLaren had that wow factor- which was quite scary early on- but they got a handle on it by the first race. This year Ferrari looks to have made some bold (and scary) moves - as well as Force india. They may both finish the season behind Merc but at at least thier initial offering are outwardly indicative of an extraordinary effort.

That's what I hoped from Merc last year and was disappointed. This year I hope for results. If evolution is faster than revolution, I will be a happy fan. If this effort produces another 4th place finish or is closer to fighting with Lotus and FI than Ferrari and Mac... I will have a very hard time.

+1

[ESPImperium]

Chassis used in the shakedown was Mercedes AMG F1 Team F1 W03-03

[Ferraripilot]

lower undercut sidepods

Low AND undercut? I'm not sure they can have both. If the top move down then the undercut has to reduce, or vice versa.

I admit that radiator size would vary between teams, but unless there is a radical new technology they'll need similar total radiator area.

Maybe it has something to do with Bird saying months ago that MB was doing something clever with radiators. Perhaps they are retaining the required cooling surface area yet the radiator positioning or shape has some tricky facet.

In comparison to say Red Bull's sidepods and potential cooling arrangement, the MB sidepods are indeed lower and the undercut appears similar, but the MB sidepods maintain a more rounded appearance as opposed to RB8 and its predecessors which sustained a vacuum packed method. Perhaps MB found more clean CFM flow potential from the lower sidepods than utilizing a vacuum packed look? I believe that was the biggest benefit of Mclaren's U-pods was indeed the 'clean' aspect of the air headed to the rear of the car.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

@ Dren and Ray

I can't wait to see the car in its actual press photos or the actual launch spec-especially interested on those sidepods; which were probably inspired by the MP4-26 sidepods.

Followed by my question.

@ Ray
You think Upods??

I don't think the W03's pods are inspired at all by the the MP4-26. Wondered why you thought they were? From what I can tell, they are scaled down 02 pods, good job seems to have been done on them too.

[wesley123]

There seems to be a new front wing on the car too

[myurr]

Sorry for the low calibre of post, but that is now the ugliest 2012 car! The nose is hideous!!

[aral]

from the pictures and videos, I think w03 will be fastest car based on velocity. with the banning of EBDs the engine will not overheat and that means low need of cooling. lower undercut sidepods mean less drag and they are similar to bgp001's design. also the team will try different exhaust positions, but I think they will use rbr way of blowing.

It is hard to understand why you believe that a picture could indicate the speed of a car. Yes, it could be faster, but equally, the others could be faster still.

Nobody knows what will happen at the next test or at Melbourne.

[King Six]

lower undercut sidepods

Low AND undercut? I'm not sure they can have both. If the top move down then the undercut has to reduce, or vice versa.

I admit that radiator size would vary between teams, but unless there is a radical new technology they'll need similar total radiator area.

This is something I've always hoped about, and I thought Ferrari would touch on it but they didn't. Radiator/Cooling technology in F1 seems to have stagnated for the entire past decade if not more. Unless the rules don't allow for any progress in that area, infact I'm sure that's the real reason..