Mercedes AMG F1 W04 (pre-launch speculation)

[Neno]

where is the photos game?? so sad no clue for Mercedes . this car will be a step forward but not for title! maybe for few wins (3-4).

good one

[MercAMGF1Fans]

I'm gonna say it... Merc will win.. dunno how, but they will

[ringo]

I hope they do too, but the silver arrow will have to come in the form of a silver bullet.

The development argument is a moot point. That pterodactyl front wing they have been using since jesus was a boy says it all.
If it's on the car next year they're doomed!

The hamilton factor is interesting. Looking on the times where his teammates were at sea in a mclaren, monaco 2012 case in point, there may be races where he's putting the W04 up for a podium challenge or in fact up for a win when rosberg is down in the barrel with the crabs.
Once reliability is there, some semblance of balance, decent tyre life, and the top speed, it sounds crazy but I really don't think he needs the best downforce to wrangle the car to a podium.
I can kinda see the W04 barelling through the field under brute force and manhandling to take some good finishes.
ie if the tyres last.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

This is just too tight, with hardly any speculation of anything.. this thread isn't as big as the w03 speculation thread

[beelsebob]

I hope they do too, but the silver arrow will have to come in the form of a silver bullet.

The development argument is a moot point. That pterodactyl front wing they have been using since jesus was a boy says it all.
If it's on the car next year they're doomed!

I don't quite get why everyone gets so upset about front wings (mostly) stagnating. The teams haven't done any significant development work on them simply because the cars are lacking rear downforce in the overall scheme of things. It's not worth developing the front wing, because it'll put the car even more out of balance. Some teams (Merc, and McLaren included) have even been sacrificing their front wing yet more to try and get more clean air to the back.

So no, the front wing stagnating, or becoming even more bare is not a sign that they're screwed, it's a sign that they're working on the rear of the car.

[Vasconia]

Tyres are the key, Hamilton can reach the podium or even win a couple of races without the best car, but he needs a car where he can push during the race. I dont know how but they must solve the problems with the tyres, I dont expect them to become the best team in this aspect but at least I want to see a clear improvement in this area.

[Coefficient]

Tyres are the key, Hamilton can reach the podium or even win a couple of races without the best car, but he needs a car where he can push during the race. I dont know how but they must solve the problems with the tyres, I dont expect them to become the best team in this aspect but at least I want to see a clear improvement in this area.

They could do a lot worse than make generous offer to a Pirelli design engineer to join the team on the tyre dynamics side of the office. I would do that yesterday!!

[beelsebob]

Tyres are the key, Hamilton can reach the podium or even win a couple of races without the best car, but he needs a car where he can push during the race. I dont know how but they must solve the problems with the tyres, I dont expect them to become the best team in this aspect but at least I want to see a clear improvement in this area.

They could do a lot worse than make generous offer to a Pirelli design engineer to join the team on the tyre dynamics side of the office. I would do that yesterday!!

I would bet heavily that their tyre issues are much more simple – just not enough rear downforce.

[jav]

Tyres are the key, Hamilton can reach the podium or even win a couple of races without the best car, but he needs a car where he can push during the race. I dont know how but they must solve the problems with the tyres, I dont expect them to become the best team in this aspect but at least I want to see a clear improvement in this area.

They could do a lot worse than make generous offer to a Pirelli design engineer to join the team on the tyre dynamics side of the office. I would do that yesterday!!

I would bet heavily that their tyre issues are much more simple – just not enough rear downforce.

I suspect your right that rear downforce is subpar compared to their peers and, this explains the continued favoring of the older front wing. I don't think it's simple or they would have fixed it by now... they've been struggling with tires since 2010.

I believe technically- earo has been a huge short coming. Yes- I think rear downforce has been problematic BUT they've also struggled with controlling exhaust from effecting the rear tires (or mis-calculated thinking they could use the exhaust to get some heat into them quicker??). They've struggled with flow re-attachment (DRS/Coanda). They've struggled with cooling flow (cooking body panels, heat dissipation (W02)). They've struggled with balance and grip. Until last year (W03)- even thier fit and finish at transitions has been less than one would expect from a company of this stature.

[beelsebob]

I suspect your right that rear downforce is subpar compared to their peers and, this explains the continued favoring of the older front wing. I don't think it's simple or they would have fixed it by now... they've been struggling with tires since 2010.

Right, I didn't mean to imply that the solution was simple. Instead that the problem was simple – too little rear downforce.

[jav]

I suspect your right that rear downforce is subpar compared to their peers and, this explains the continued favoring of the older front wing. I don't think it's simple or they would have fixed it by now... they've been struggling with tires since 2010.

Right, I didn't mean to imply that the solution was simple. Instead that the problem was simple – too little rear downforce.

I agree.

The last 3 years have sadly squandered all my hope for this team. Their return to F1 could have been the stuff of legends. To date, they haven't come close to their percieved potential and I doubt 2013, W04 or Lewis will be significant enough to change that.

I expect an improvement, but think it will be too little too late. They've gone from not enough staff to too many cooks and I suspect the soup will be overseasoned. They didn't need a Lewis Hamilton- they needed a Rory Byrne or an Adrian Newey with a singular plan and focus in 2011, to start a sound foundation they could evolve. Instead there has been less evolution than unremarkeable new concepts year after year.

Part of me still hopes W04 will be that car that the moment it hits the track, the drivers KNOW it's something special, but I don't expect that. I expect that if W04 doesn't absolutely shine during testing (and I suspect it won't), season 4 will be much the same as 1-3.

[NewtonMeter]

I suspect your right that rear downforce is subpar compared to their peers and, this explains the continued favoring of the older front wing. I don't think it's simple or they would have fixed it by now... they've been struggling with tires since 2010.

I believe technically- earo has been a huge short coming. Yes- I think rear downforce has been problematic BUT they've also struggled with controlling exhaust from effecting the rear tires (or mis-calculated thinking they could use the exhaust to get some heat into them quicker??). They've struggled with flow re-attachment (DRS/Coanda). They've struggled with cooling flow (cooking body panels, heat dissipation (W02)). They've struggled with balance and grip. Until last year (W03)- even thier fit and finish at transitions has been less than one would expect from a company of this stature.

As far as I can tell, the W03 front wing shares very little with the W02, W01 and BGP one.

And further the fit and finish of the W03 was not too shabby (it's predecessors were quite bad, I'll give you that).

No, I'm sorry, but I disagree. The team deserves a lot of criticism, granted, but not that.

[jav]

I suspect your right that rear downforce is subpar compared to their peers and, this explains the continued favoring of the older front wing. I don't think it's simple or they would have fixed it by now... they've been struggling with tires since 2010.

I believe technically- earo has been a huge short coming. Yes- I think rear downforce has been problematic BUT they've also struggled with controlling exhaust from effecting the rear tires (or mis-calculated thinking they could use the exhaust to get some heat into them quicker??). They've struggled with flow re-attachment (DRS/Coanda). They've struggled with cooling flow (cooking body panels, heat dissipation (W02)). They've struggled with balance and grip. Until last year (W03)- even thier fit and finish at transitions has been less than one would expect from a company of this stature.

As far as I can tell, the W03 front wing shares very little with the W02, W01 and BGP one.

And further the fit and finish of the W03 was not too shabby (it's predecessors were quite bad, I'll give you that).

No, I'm sorry, but I disagree. The team deserves a lot of criticism, granted, but not that.

Sorry Newton, what do you disagree with?

[MercAMGF1Fans]

Merc will announce the launch date in the next few days..

I just had a word with Mercedes regarding Jerez..
the car will not be launched in Jerez, but prior to the test

[Mika1]

Merc will announce the launch date in the next few days..

I just had a word with Mercedes regarding Jerez..
the car will not be launched in Jerez, but prior to the test

Interesting. I hope JAN 31.