Mercedes AMG F1 W04

[mantikos]

Since Merc has been punished by not attending the YDT and now we have a change in the YDT now its a universal Tyre test imo i dont see a problem merc testing the tyres along with the other teams.

They are still seeking clarification on the FIA ruling, yes merc go off lightly but without them doing the test will be a huge disadvantage to them.

Pirelli cost merc a possible win at silverstone

Didn't Merc win at silverstone?

He was talking about the YTD at Silverstone...and how is any of this car related?

[stefan_]

On the grid in Germany.

[Crucial_Xtreme]

New nose analysis from GA.


via AutoSport

[Hobbs04]

I know cars of this era, 2009 til now, haven't been the prettiest, but I'm very fond of this W04 especially with its new nose. It may be my favorite of this year.

[SectorOne]

It´s quite fascinating this car i have to say,
Visually it looks ordinary at best yet it´s comfortably the quickest machine of the lot.
With ROS and HAM in the car you also know that on any given weekend, one of them will get the most out of it.

[liveforf1]

is anyone discussing the 800lb gorilla in the room?! Nico was definitely not thinking team when he lost Lewis 6 seconds to Vettel. the truth is it wasn't only 6 seconds. it ruined that set of tires costing the team and Lewis a chance to challenge Vettel. the lighter the Merc is the better it performs. the car got better and better as the fuel burned off. if Lewis did not have to use up his tires trying to pass his teammate with Raikkonen breathing down his neck, i think he would have been able to follow Vettel until he could figt him. sort of like Austin 2012. Nico may be the one with something to prove.

[raymondu999]

is anyone discussing the 800lb gorilla in the room?! Nico was definitely not thinking team when he lost Lewis 6 seconds to Vettel. the truth is it wasn't only 6 seconds. it ruined that set of tires costing the team and Lewis a chance to challenge Vettel. the lighter the Merc is the better it performs. the car got better and better as the fuel burned off. if Lewis did not have to use up his tires trying to pass his teammate with Raikkonen breathing down his neck, i think he would have been able to follow Vettel until he could figt him. sort of like Austin 2012. Nico may be the one with something to prove.

This is the car thread. What the hell has this got to do with the car? (as opposed to having to do with the team, and races)

[PlatinumZealot]

It´s quite fascinating this car i have to say,
Visually it looks ordinary at best yet it´s comfortably the quickest machine of the lot.
With ROS and HAM in the car you also know that on any given weekend, one of them will get the most out of it.

I think HAM and ROS are just good qualifiers thats all. Eeven on fresh tyres low fuel at the end of the race, the other cars are still faster.

[Jon_S]

It´s quite fascinating this car i have to say,
Visually it looks ordinary at best yet it´s comfortably the quickest machine of the lot.
With ROS and HAM in the car you also know that on any given weekend, one of them will get the most out of it.

According to some reporters (heard/read it in a couple of podcats/articles already) Mercedes know since the start of the season that they are not up there on race pace. And in Malaysia they gave up everything to get at least a pole to please Petronas in their home circuit (Rosberg was fastest on dry Q2 until rain started and then Vettel got that pole). They've sticked to that same strategy since then, and will continue to do so until tyre degradation is sorted and they can confortably fight for wins on every track, and not only on GPs that are easier to win from pole like Monaco.
Better to get some exposure on Saturdays and fall back on Sundays than being nowhere the whole weekend, is what these people claim Mercedes is doing.

Normally I would not believe all this talking, but considering how much the pace change from Q to R, I'm not sure it should be labelled as a crazy hypothesis.
I mean, all this "The W04 heat up the tyres very fast and that helps them in qualifying but hurts them in the race" is the most logical explanation, but maybe it is not the whole truth and there is something else going on.

If it was just Hamilton and Rosberg's skills putting the car on pole, they sure should be doing some impressive last stints on low fuel during the races too.
Just my point of view.

[SectorOne]

In terms of always banking on Saturdays, Rosberg said after Spain that he was shocked to take pole since they had been working on race setup rather then quali setup.
In fact we know they have been working a lot on race setup to be competitive in races.

Tires also does not seem to have messed up the aerodynamics in the proximity of the rear tires.
I´m hoping they´ll understand this new tire as well as they did the old one (they seemed to have unlocked it in Silverstone)

[sucof]

It´s quite fascinating this car i have to say,
Visually it looks ordinary at best yet it´s comfortably the quickest machine of the lot.
With ROS and HAM in the car you also know that on any given weekend, one of them will get the most out of it.

According to some reporters (heard/read it in a couple of podcats/articles already) Mercedes know since the start of the season that they are not up there on race pace. And in Malaysia they gave up everything to get at least a pole to please Petronas in their home circuit (Rosberg was fastest on dry Q2 until rain started and then Vettel got that pole). They've sticked to that same strategy since then, and will continue to do so until tyre degradation is sorted and they can confortably fight for wins on every track, and not only on GPs that are easier to win from pole like Monaco.
Better to get some exposure on Saturdays and fall back on Sundays than being nowhere the whole weekend, is what these people claim Mercedes is doing.

Normally I would not believe all this talking, but considering how much the pace change from Q to R, I'm not sure it should be labelled as a crazy hypothesis.
I mean, all this "The W04 heat up the tyres very fast and that helps them in qualifying but hurts them in the race" is the most logical explanation, but maybe it is not the whole truth and there is something else going on.

If it was just Hamilton and Rosberg's skills putting the car on pole, they sure should be doing some impressive last stints on low fuel during the races too.
Just my point of view.

They do not do fast laps in the end because there is no point doing that. Also they have to save fuel, the engine.
And of course at the end they usually have worn tires on.... especially if they degrade them fast.

[smlbstcbr]

First post!
Now, to the business. I think the real question is why the W04 overworks its tyres. Is it too much downforce? To little downforce? A soft suspension? A hard suspension? A heavy car? I am certain that they cannot make a bullet of a horrible car, otherwise Williams, FI, Sauber would be pole makers.

[liveforf1]

This is the car thread. What the hell has this got to do with the car? (as opposed to having to do with the team, and races)[/quote]

the CAR is horrible on full tanks. the drivers have been quoted as saying the balance disappears at the start of the race then suddenly gets better. its been suggested on this forum that its quite possible the CAR'S balance isn't quite there when loaded with fuel. the drives have said they aren't setting the car up for a single lap but with the race in mind. that being the case and the aggressive way the w04 works the tires, i assumed in talking about tire deg and full tank issues that management of the CAR during the race by the team was a legitimate subject.

the team has to manage the race between the drivers to get the most out of the CAR as they work to correct the problem.

[raymondu999]

I think the fact that the McLaren and Force India are quite kind on the tyres can rule out the engine.

I wonder if it's a by-product rather than a direct symptom of the car's problems. A while back it was theorized that the car had rubbish fuel consumption figures since the introduction of Coanda. Carrying extra fuel weight would mean either having to fuel save, or having to over fuel, both of which would hurt race pace at some phase in the race.

[beelsebob]

I think the fact that the McLaren and Force India are quite kind on the tyres can rule out the engine.

Notably though, with different engine mappings. I stand by my guess that Merc were the furthest behind at the time when the engine maps got locked in, and hence have maps that use high fuel consumption with coanda, and don't provide as much benefit from it.