2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[Morteza]

[Morteza]

[ringo]

Is the Russel 18 inch wheel test drive anything to go by that he will get the seat next year?
He did 2 race distances in the car if i am not mistaken.
That is a lot of time to compare his pace to Hamilton's and Valteri's practice runs.

[bosyber]

Is the Russel 18 inch wheel test drive anything to go by that he will get the seat next year?
He did 2 race distances in the car if i am not mistaken.
That is a lot of time to compare his pace to Hamilton's and Valteri's practice runs.

I don;t really think so; Williams doesn't have, and won't get they have now decided, a mule car for such tests; Russell doing the work does indeed help Mercedes learn to work with him, but it also helps their two drivers get a rest and do something else, which I think is more likely what's behind it.

[mkay]

AM has announced they have withdrawn their appeal, meaning HAM gets to keep P2.

[basti313]

That is a lot of time to compare his pace to Hamilton's and Valteri's practice runs.

I do not think you can compare anything with the mule car and the test tires. Furthermore the drivers have the clear target to keep the car on the track, they are well off the limit.

[adrianjordan]

Add to that, Merc has as much data as they could possibly want on Russell

[Marty_Y]

https://www.planetf1.com/news/mercedes- ... -upgrades/

Mercedes stopped W12 aero work ‘a long time ago’

Date published: August 16 2021 - Henry Valantine

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team have made good progress with their 2021 car but stopped developing the aero package “a long time ago”.


Having seen their car on a relatively even footing compared to rivals Red Bull early in the season, their competitors had been bringing regular upgrades to their car and extended the gap to Mercedes, which led to five victories in a row for Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez.

But after both Red Bull cars were involved in accidents in the two races before the summer break, Mercedes were able to leapfrog their main title challengers and take the lead of both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships as F1 shut down halfway through the season.

While Mercedes and Red Bull continue to fight for the World Championship though, the boss of the Silver Arrows has said their improvements have now halted – even with both titles in the balance.

“In terms of aerodynamic development, we stopped a long time ago,” Wolff said.

“The last development stopped in spring and the last upgrade that was then produced we brought to Silverstone, and that upgrade functions.

“We have made a step forward.”

The implementation of a budget cap in Formula 1 for the first time has led to teams watching their expenses and having to focus their resources on next year’s cars earlier than usual – even more so given the sweeping regulation changes coming in 2022.

Given Wolff feels there could be as many as six teams in next season’s fight for the World Championship – with the regulations surrounding the cars becoming tighter – he acknowledges every second of development counts when it comes to getting their next car right.

If they falter or do not maximise their potential in developing their new challenger, Wolff says there could be consequences beyond the first few races of 2022.

“You always have to balance the sport’s interest versus the long term,” explained Wolff, quoted by GP Fans Global. “Next year’s regulations will be with us for a few years.

“You can’t just ignore it because if you have a deficit at the beginning of next season, that could take a long time until you catch up, so we always stick to our strategy. In a way, we didn’t change course, we kept on our paths.”

[f1jcw]

How can red bull afford to keep developing?

[adrianjordan]

How can red bull afford to keep developing?

There are some, myself included, who feel that RBR are throwing everything at this season because they know they might be on the back foot until the new PU regs come in...

[ringo]

The remaining tracks.. seem to be redbull tracks. And this is even comparing 2020 w11 and RB16. Now we have a much stronger RB16B. For sure Max can win all remaining races. Mercedes are planning for the dificulty ahead i hope.

Monza seems to the only one they can win on Merrit and maybe Zandvoort. The rest.. just look like Redbull stomping grounds.

[dans79]

The remaining tracks.. seem to be redbull tracks. And this is even comparing 2020 w11 and RB16. Now we have a much stronger RB16B. For sure Max can win all remaining races. Mercedes are planning for the dificulty ahead i hope.

Monza seems to the only one they can win on Merrit and maybe Zandvoort. The rest.. just look like Redbull stomping grounds.

I think you are forgetting about 2 significant factors, the Merc aero upgrade and new Pirelli rears, that both debuted in Silverstone. In normal qualifying Merc looked several tenths faster than Redbull. Also Merc hasn't introduced a fuel or oil upgrade yet, so they will most likely get a PU boost when they do that.

The only remaining tracks where I think Honda will have a clear advantage based on what we know right now is Mexico and Brazil, and even that's based on 2 year old results that might not hold true anymore.

[ringo]

I am not convinced of their pace.
I believe the Redbull just was not setup well in Hungary. Max complained of understeer and never seemed to have been pleased with the balance. This may have been because of the tyres. So I am expecting redbull to better understand the tyres and make the necessary adjustments. I do not think Mercedes had any longstanding advantage from the new tyres, it was more than likely redbull underperforming in terms of setup and possibly driver comfort with the car.
Redbull will be pushing to make the outright best car, and just like the end of 2020 where mercedes did not have their hands tied behind their backs, Redbull can easily dominate in 3 to 4 races into the second half. They are very hungry for these championships.
Mercedes look like they are more i. favour of the long term plans with the new regs and will lean on Hamilton to Pull somethibg out of the bag to win this championship, but it's not their highest priority. Their focus is to repeat what they did pre hybrid era.. start working very early to have an advantage that lasts for years.

[mkay]

How can red bull afford to keep developing?

There are some, myself included, who feel that RBR are throwing everything at this season because they know they might be on the back foot until the new PU regs come in...

Is it possible that RB may be 'borrowing' Alpha Tauri wind tunnel/CFD time to develop? At this point, given the slew of aero upgrades RB has introduced to date this season, it's not just a question of staying within the budget cap, but also staying within the allotted CFD/wind tunnel time (which RB has less of given they were 1st in WCC at the end of June)

The remaining tracks.. seem to be redbull tracks. And this is even comparing 2020 w11 and RB16. Now we have a much stronger RB16B. For sure Max can win all remaining races. Mercedes are planning for the dificulty ahead i hope.

Monza seems to the only one they can win on Merrit and maybe Zandvoort. The rest.. just look like Redbull stomping grounds.

Keep in mind Merc stopped developing the W11 very early on last season, whilst RB continued developing right until the end.

Also, Merc should do well around Spa, Russia and US.

Zandvoort, Turkey, Saudi and Abu Dhabi are unknowns for different reasons. The fact that Turkey is held 1 1/2 month earlier this year will help Merc temp-wise and should prevent last year's shenanigans. Abu Dhabi's new layout should help Merc as it will remove some of the low speed corners where RB would have had an advantage.

[dans79]

I believe the Redbull just was not setup well in Hungary. Max complained of understeer and never seemed to have been pleased with the balance. This may have been because of the tyres.

The had issues in silverstone as well.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/vide ... 82179.html

I think the new rear tires and aero upgrades has widened the set-up sweet spot for Mercedes. I also think the new rear tires have narrowed the set-up sweet spot for Red Bull. Hence why they have had balance issue for two consecutive races on tracks that are very different.