Mercedes AMG F1 W04 (pre-launch speculation)

[mep]

About the 60% model issue..
Pirelli were focussing on providing 60% model tyres.. and they had to bite the bullet and do the upgrade.

They can't blame Pirelli for that. They should have went for a 60% model anyways because it is superior to a 50% model in every aspect. Also their biggest issue was their horrendous reliability and that has absolutely nothing to do with the Aero department.

[dren]

Yes, the team could have done much better if Schumacher didn't have a DNF every other race. I expect reliability to improve in 2013. In 2011, Mercedes had the quickest pitstops, but in 2012 they were in the middle of the pack. I expect their pitstops to improve into the mid to low 3 second range on average.

Foxhound pointed out several good issues. I don't expect gearbox problems since Williams was able to run their low box with little to no issues. I also don't expect the team to have any issues with a pullrod front suspension. That is a somewhat simple mechanical design. They should be able to simulate that very easily. It will be even easier to implement if the interconnected suspension is dumped. The one main issue will be with the Coanda exhaust. It took Red Bull several modifications and races before they dialed it in, and that's a team who designed several previous cars around a blown rear exhaust.

I am very intrigued by their gearbox. Will they continue with the CF or will it be metal? Will it be low slung like the Williams, or just smaller than what they have now?

[MercAMGF1Fans]

About the 60% model issue..
Pirelli were focussing on providing 60% model tyres.. and they had to bite the bullet and do the upgrade.

They can't blame Pirelli for that. They should have went for a 60% model anyways because it is superior to a 50% model in every aspect. Also their biggest issue was their horrendous reliability and that has absolutely nothing to do with the Aero department.

they're not exactly blaming Pirelli... just that they had to do it at one stage or another, and it would have caused disruptions to development, either off season or mid-season.. that' the point i'm trying to make

[Paul]

I think Williams had quite a few problems when they started running their radical gearbox...

[Raptor22]

Strange how the other top teams make the running changes to their facilities without too much interuption to their design and development programmes.

[FoxHound]

Strange how the other top teams make the running changes to their facilities without too much interuption to their design and development programmes.

Is that so?
Lotus upgraded their windtunnel in 2011 and next to no upgrades where seen on the car during this period.
Ferrari too have had big problems, so big they have had to use the Toyota windtunnel in cologne.
Any team changing tools they require to develop will suffer.

http://www.sportpulse.net/content/f1-ne ... pment-5973

[MercAMGF1Fans]

Strange how the other top teams make the running changes to their facilities without too much interuption to their design and development programmes.

Is that so?
Lotus upgraded their windtunnel in 2011 and next to no upgrades where seen on the car during this period.
Ferrari too have had big problems, so big they have had to use the Toyota windtunnel in cologne.
Any team changing tools they require to develop will suffer.

http://www.sportpulse.net/content/f1-ne ... pment-5973

yeah and as remember why the 2012 Ferrari started off as a "dog" in pre-season testing?

[Ferraripilot]

Seeing as how Aldo Costa is primarily in charge of this design, I do not believe we will indeed see anything too risky in terms of design. In other words, I'm not expecting a Mercedes' version of F2012. Costa seems more conservative in his approach so I believe most aspects of W03 will simply be overhauled and improved upon for W04. W03 probably required a great deal of fundamental improvements which is probably why Lauda advised W04 will be a completely new car, it essentially will be from a certain perspective. But don't think that means they did not learn from their mistakes and flaws of W03 as suggesting that would mean 2012 was a wash and all data was wiped. Not true. Hopefully W04 will be what W03 should have been by the look of it in pre-season testing, which was a top 2 or 3 car.

I expect a Red Bull style floor tunnel and ramp-exhaust system, a soft front end again, revised rear geometry, and revised front and rear wings. That's about as far as my expectations are going at the moment, although just those changes -if more efficient- would undoubtedly be game changers.

[dren]

I think Williams had quite a few problems when they started running their radical gearbox...

I remember they had issues with attachments in testing, but did they in the races? I thought they didn't.

[PlatinumZealot]

Seeing as how Aldo Costa is primarily in charge of this design, I do not believe we will indeed see anything too risky in terms of design. In other words, I'm not expecting a Mercedes' version of F2012. Costa seems more conservative in his approach so I believe most aspects of W03 will simply be overhauled and improved upon for W04. W03 probably required a great deal of fundamental improvements which is probably why Lauda advised W04 will be a completely new car, it essentially will be from a certain perspective. But don't think that means they did not learn from their mistakes and flaws of W03 as suggesting that would mean 2012 was a wash and all data was wiped. Not true. Hopefully W04 will be what W03 should have been by the look of it in pre-season testing, which was a top 2 or 3 car.

I expect a Red Bull style floor tunnel and ramp-exhaust system, a soft front end again, revised rear geometry, and revised front and rear wings. That's about as far as my expectations are going at the moment, although just those changes -if more efficient- would undoubtedly be game changers.

Yeah, I like Aldo's designs.. Very clean and easy on the eye.
His last design was the Family of F60, f10, F150th which were easy on the tyres as well.

[NonNewtonic]

I think Williams had quite a few problems when they started running their radical gearbox...

I remember they had issues with attachments in testing, but did they in the races? I thought they didn't.

They suffered from excessive vibration at the rear during winter testing but the problem is resolve after introducing an extra support monted on the diffuser.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

here's Scarbs' article on the Williams Gearbox
http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2011/03/24/wi ... in-detail/

[yener]

I think they will have to solve a lot of more problems in the future. They have brought extra aero capability and they have an upgraded windtunnel. They have changed the way they used to work.
Believe me they will be surprised with "new" problems. It's just like changing a car part. No matter how often you do it always takes you longer because of suprises you didnt expect.

Also funny how they mentioned that RBR needed 4 years to become strong. They did go smooth in terms of devolopment and teamwork. At MGP we see people flying in and out and radical changes almost every year.
The only thing they didnt radicaly changed in the previous seasons is the way they played the game. Gambling on something innovative (DDRS-Double Radiators-Xtreme Short Wheelbase).
Their approach of copying other teams is the best decision so far. But it will take another season to be a real championship contender.

I'm honestly really excited to see if they really got rid of their tyre problem. That would be a big step forward. The 60% windtunnel is running and lets see how much adventage it gave them. As usual they will improve in almost every way.

The front wont change too much i believe, but we will see a completly different rear wing- diffuser and smoother back end.
The things we cant see at the first pictures: suspension. Hope it wont suck again.

[dren]

I just hope the W04 has no tire issues. With Aldo there, I am optimistic.

[Vasconia]

I just hope the W04 has no tire issues. With Aldo there, I am optimistic.

If they have the same problems, I will simply kill them, we can not tolerate another year with the same problems. As you have said Costa´s work should be very beneficial in this aspect.