Mercedes AMG F1 W04 (pre-launch speculation)

[FoxHound]

So hang on a minute.

Bigois present 12 months ago...car in development.
Bigois leaves...development stalled.
Windtunnel upgraded...development stalled.
Elliott joins the fray...development stalled until he can get up and running with what's been designed before he joined.

That is just assuming it's been a continuous development stage. But of course it hasn't been.
Reasons?

1. Mercedes where still chasing the DDRS avenue well after the chinese GP which was in April. So assuming they still though it was prudent the W04 will have had it's concept in line with DDRS usage. In the end it was banned(the Mercedes iteration anyway.) And the the rewards weren't as big as hoped.
2. Coanda exhaust using teams showed big gains in season. Mercedes hadn't covered this base whilst exploring the DDRS avenues.

These 2 factors alone mean whatever Mercedes had on the drawing board 12 months ago, has gone over so many changes it is probably unrecognisable.

The W04 is said to be all new, so as I have mentioned before I don't expect any familial look to the W01/02/03. Possibly one or 2 elements, as can be expected, but certainly a different car altogether.
It has to be. There where too many issues in the 2nd half of the season for the W04 to have much in common with the 03.
Coanda exhausts will be expected.
The rear of the car will be different, beyond the suspension geometries.
And I expect a far more developed front wing, something DDRS hampered them with throughout 2012.

[user001]

So hang on a minute.

Bigois present 12 months ago...car in development.
Bigois leaves...development stalled.
Windtunnel upgraded...development stalled.
Elliott joins the fray...development stalled until he can get up and running with what's been designed before he joined.

That is just assuming it's been a continuous development stage. But of course it hasn't been.
Reasons?

1. Mercedes where still chasing the DDRS avenue well after the chinese GP which was in April. So assuming they still though it was prudent the W04 will have had it's concept in line with DDRS usage. In the end it was banned(the Mercedes iteration anyway.) And the the rewards weren't as big as hoped.
2. Coanda exhaust using teams showed big gains in season. Mercedes hadn't covered this base whilst exploring the DDRS avenues.

These 2 factors alone mean whatever Mercedes had on the drawing board 12 months ago, has gone over so many changes it is probably unrecognisable.

The W04 is said to be all new, so as I have mentioned before I don't expect any familial look to the W01/02/03. Possibly one or 2 elements, as can be expected, but certainly a different car altogether.
It has to be. There where too many issues in the 2nd half of the season for the W04 to have much in common with the 03.
Coanda exhausts will be expected.
The rear of the car will be different, beyond the suspension geometries.
And I expect a far more developed front wing, something DDRS hampered them with throughout 2012.

also as mentioned in the article development of the w04 was independent by seperate people besides the w03. the second half of the 2012 season was only used as one big testing ground for potential parts(ddrs, rear beam wing, suspension, coanda, rear wing and so forth.

[marcush.]

Brawn already puts his focus on 2014 as the big chance to show their new level of integration...powertrain and chassis that is according to the quoted online mag "interview".

[user001]

Brawn already puts his focus on 2014 as the big chance to show their new level of integration...powertrain and chassis that is according to the quoted online mag "interview".

it was reported many times, that resources have been split to 2013 and 2014. they won't throw away a whole season inly because 2014.

[Mika1]

Indeed, Costa takes care of the 2013 project. Willis focuses on the 2014 car.

[turbof1]

But that all was before the 2014 aero rules got reverted right? Essentially everything Willis has done until a week ago can be thrown into the garbage can. That might actually be a good thing: Costa designs the 2013 car and Willis will aid in its development throughout the season.

[FoxHound]

Well it doesn't sound great hearing it from the translation....

[dren]

W03 Concept: DDRS, clean rear with "large" diffuser

W04 Concept: Coanda exhaust, rest of car built around it.

The top three teams will have had an entire season's worth of experience with the coanda exhaust. Mercedes will be caught out. They will have a few early podiums and will tank just like this year. If there is another tight battle to the championship, it will work in their favor for 2014.

It will be interesting to see how Lotus turns up. If they can make their chassis even lighter, they may be a big surprise.

A Kimi WDC might not be a bad bet depending on the odds right now.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

Schumi believe's the tyre problems are a thing of the past now - too bad he can't benefit from it

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/form ... 97813.html

last paragraph

[Nando]

Are the tires a thing of the past? "I guess" was the answer.

I sure hope they are right. Next years tires will be even more sensitive to overheating from what i understand.

[raymondu999]

Wow. Interesting. They make a tyre that performs better under compound loading, but it gets hurt more? I guess we also have to factor in car development a bit though - teams will probably manage to make their 2013 cars easier on tyres than the 2012 cars.

[yener]

Wow. Interesting. They make a tyre that performs better under compound loading, but it gets hurt more? I guess we also have to factor in car development a bit though - teams will probably manage to make their 2013 cars easier on tyres than the 2012 cars.

Google translated to English for me, but i dont believe it at all.

2 years in a row they were sleeping and now they have found the solution by new heat tracking system on the car?
Yeah right!

When Nico won in China 15 laps before the finish flag they told him on the radio "Nico, be really gentle on the left front"

Next year it will be. "Lewis, be very gentle on the left front!"

[wesley123]

Wow. Interesting. They make a tyre that performs better under compound loading, but it gets hurt more? I guess we also have to factor in car development a bit though - teams will probably manage to make their 2013 cars easier on tyres than the 2012 cars.

Google translated to English for me, but i dont believe it at all.

2 years in a row they were sleeping and now they have found the solution by new heat tracking system on the car?
Yeah right!

When Nico won in China 15 laps before the finish flag they told him on the radio "Nico, be really gentle on the left front"

Next year it will be. "Lewis, be very gentle on the left front!"

Lewis iic isnt very great in making sure the tires last, so I think Merc would do a smart job and make the car too easy on the tires rather than too hard.

[user001]

Wow. Interesting. They make a tyre that performs better under compound loading, but it gets hurt more? I guess we also have to factor in car development a bit though - teams will probably manage to make their 2013 cars easier on tyres than the 2012 cars.

Google translated to English for me, but i dont believe it at all.

2 years in a row they were sleeping and now they have found the solution by new heat tracking system on the car?
Yeah right!

When Nico won in China 15 laps before the finish flag they told him on the radio "Nico, be really gentle on the left front"

Next year it will be. "Lewis, be very gentle on the left front!"

Lewis iic isnt very great in making sure the tires last, so I think Merc would do a smart job and make the car too easy on the tires rather than too hard.

that is something reported by the media i don't know how many times. but its not true. if he wants to save tyres he does and he proved it on various occasions!

[wesley123]

that is something reported by the media i don't know how many times. but its not true. if he wants to save tyres he does and he proved it on various occasions!

Is that because of himself or something the team did? I know he did like half a race on the hard tire somewhere at the start of the season, that was a really long stint. Wasnt he somewhere further back then? I dont really know, but diff settings etc. etc. can have a pretty decent improvement on tire life. Also the MP4-27 wasnt really hard on it's tires.

...I think Merc would do a smart job and make the car too easy on the tires rather than too hard.

I think it's much easier said than done especially with the problems they had this season, plus Pirelli working "against" the teams in terms of tire life.

It's indeed easier said than doner, but I believe they would do a good job of instead of getting it too hard on the tires is getting it too easy. But that differs from race to race, or even sessions.