Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 2013

[FoxHound]

I'm not sure where this blame culture mumbo jumbo is coming from. Just seems to be typical, "When Merc does it, we apply a bad label to it."

Exactly what my initial point was alluding to. My second point as to Bigois was that his time was clearly coming to an end.

Just for the record. I did not misquoted you !!! (You said what I quoted, if you like it or not)

And your interpretation of what was written was well short of the intended point.

I may have misunderstood you

That you did. And I cannot apologise for that, however it is clear to me you are posting in a second/third or maybe even fourth language. For that, your misunderstanding is understandable

Nice of you to try and claim the moral high ground now, you could have done a lot of what you preach now yourself, by not attacking Cam in the first place.

I attacked Cam?
Come on Gato, your initial post after Richard Leeds kindly reopened, was quite provocative in making me out as some kind of hypocrite. After 3 odd years posting here I have supported Mercedes. People where calling for heads to roll in 2010, and 2011 and it was I calling for time. Time ran out, and if the results don't match up with the targets, what are you left with?

Aero is and always has been the massive Achilles heel for Mercedes. Action was taken, now we move on.

[Mika1]

When do we see some insider pictures of the drivers and team members?
Wont we see or hear anything till launch time?

Lol, what do you expect? Some spygates. Of course they won't show us anything till launch time.

[Paul]

I'm sure there will be teasers soon, weren't Mercedes the ones who were showing outlines of the car some time before the official unveiling?

[raymondu999]

Wasn't that CGI though? I'm not sure such teasers will have any real bearing on what the car looks like. It could just be a generic silhouette

[FrukostScones]

Wasn't that CGI though? I'm not sure such teasers will have any real bearing on what the car looks like. It could just be a generic silhouette

like this pic from 25.12.2012: W03 or W04???



from http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/

[beelsebob]

Wasn't that CGI though? I'm not sure such teasers will have any real bearing on what the car looks like. It could just be a generic silhouette

like this pic from 25.12.2012: W03 or W04???

Neither – a computer model an artist at mercedes decided looked cool.

[PlatinumZealot]

It has the platypus nose too.

[user001]

It has the platypus nose too.

and in a quiet "extreme" fashion as far as i can tell and see. a greater step than on the w03 as i can see.. but that does not say anything how the w04 will actually look like.

also regarding the permission to cover the step nose: you think there could be an advantage of covering the nose and simultaneously having a slit likewise the one on the sidepods on the mclaren and sauber this year? regarding quieting down and controlling the slipstream?

[ArchAngel]

What do you folks think would be a reasonable minimum achievement for this team, so that its 2013 campaign can be claimed to have attained some measure of respectability?

Mike Elliot has already settled in with a clean sheet to work on the aerodynamics -- no more ghost of Loic Bigois haunting the aero department. Aldo Costa has pretty much got the mechanical side all to himself, while Bob Bell is supposed to ensure seamless engine integration. Despite already focusing on the W05/2014 project, I'm sure Geoff Willis can & will still be called upon to provide his two-cents worth. Oh, and the wind tunnel is already off the excuse list... But will people still continue to be forgiving if Pirelli is still prominent on that list by mid-season?

Lewis Hamilton is seen to provide, aside from unrelenting pace, take-no-prisoners race-craft, yet-to-be-proven leadership & car development skills, a whole bunch of other tenths & unknowns that's expected to regularly propel the car & team to giddy heights previously only dreamed of... Or this being his first year in a new & vastly different team, much less competitive than what he'd been used to in all his racing years, do we give HAM a pass for the culture shock and rude, reality slap-in-the-face check?

Personally, I would be terribly disappointed (yet at the same time not surprised) to know if some fans/supporters (and even some team insiders) have already resigned themselves to seeing 2013 as merely a stop-gap or holding period, claiming 2014 to be the absolute, all-or-nothing assault on the championship where everything finally & magically clicks into place.

Long-time & staunch Mercedes supporters will understandably be always forgiving of the team's under-achievements, always seeing the small, white dot in a black canvass and contentedly visualizing a bright & rosy future. The fan in all of us can understand and admire this... to a point. But what about the Hamilton supporters who will now be regularly frequenting this contentious side of the forum? For the 2013 season, what are your aspirations for Lewis and minimum expectations from Merc?

[NewtonMeter]

What do you folks think would be a reasonable minimum achievement for this team, so that its 2013 campaign can be claimed to have attained some measure of respectability?

<snip>

Well, I'm going to be very carefull now, but last year this time I asked myself the same question and the answer was "race win, preferably on merit". But seeing how that was achieved and I still felt a void at the end of the season due to how it eventually panned out, perhaps a broader goal should be set.

So I'm going with a win, preferably on merit (as before) AND being able to more or less challenge the top teams in no less than half the races AND being able to keep up development with the top teams (note, not neccesarily overtake them, but at least being able to keep up with them). Basically having a season similar to what the fag packets just had.

I think these are challenging but achievable goals.

[elf341]

I think the point is that a measure of success is for them pacewise to be there, or thereabouts.

The Lotus very easily might not have won a single race in '12, but was so clearly playing with the big boys that it didn't really matter. I want to be seeing things such as the W04 overtaking a McLaren, Red Bull, or a Ferrari, on merit (and not because of being out of sync pit-stop wise) - the Lotus did these types of things last year.

Again, given the past strengths of these Merc cars at this point you'd have to say that China is their best early season opportunity. Both Nico and Lewis appear to be China specialists, so that will be interesting!

[user001]

as far as i can tell everything below constructor place three would be a minumum aim to look for. Haug himself told us in 2010 and 2011 as a minimum requirement for a mercedes team. maybe this was the reason he has been dumped. nobody knows...

[Glyn]

I think the only hope for Mercedes is if they have a fast podium contending car right from the onset.
If this does not happen, then I think we can expect exactly the same as 2012.

I also think that the Mercedes team will be the most exciting to watch. The battle between Rosberg and Hamilton will be very compelling and will answer a lot of questions.

All in all, I want Hamilton to turn up and dominate and win a championship. Wouldn't that be nice...

[Mika1]

I expect an improvement, but the main target is 2014.

[Richard]

What do you folks think would be a reasonable minimum achievement for this team ...

- Start with a gap to the front car on par with Lotus's performance in 2012. Resulting in say 2 or 3 podiums in first 6 races.
- Coherent development path throughout the season to maintain the gap (albeit with some highs and lows).
- Gain places in a races
- Finish in a close run 5th, say 50 points behind 4th, ideally 7-10 podiums.

Personally, I'd rate a coherent in-season development path higher than the glamour of a random win. This team is in desperate need for rigour, consistency and purpose. Getting that right is hard work and unglamorous. It would be a phenomenal achievement after the results of the last two years to be able to keep pace (ie maintain the gap) with the frenetic development pace of RB, McL and Fer.