Mercedes AMG F1 W03 (pre-launch speculation)

[elf341]

This is for the W01
Thomas Fuhr (Managing Director)
Kevin Taylor (Chief Designer)
Loïc Bigois (Head of Aerodynamics) - now Willis
Craig Wilson (Head of Vehicle Engineering & Dynamics) - now Costa

I wonder who actually designed the W01, then?
Zander was long gone when the plans were presumably begun.
Kevin Taylor, who above is listed as Chief Designer, is an old hand at Brackley, but was actually at Toyota until February 2010 (see Kevin Taylor LinkedIn)

Bigois/Wilson partnership then?

[dren]

Well, like I said, that was taken from Wikipedia, so I don't know exactly how accurate it is.

[Ozan]

as far as I remember, Loic Bigois designed the w01.

[ell66]

The redbull will be the fastest or joint fastest unless they make mistakes in there design or mclaren and ferrari come up with something special.

Merc on the other hand, id say it would be a good year if they can move closer to the top 3 by at least half a second and actually be able to compete with them on certain days, because last year it was pretty massive gap at most gp's/

[Giblet]

Have you seen the way they've restructured the tech team? have you read the article?
Brawn clearly states that :

We chose a short wheelbase because we wanted a nice short area of floor ahead of the diffuser to keep the underfloor airflow consistant

in order to over come the "weakness" of the single diffuser
but they hadn't counted on the "EDB" which left them with the short end of the stick

I've been parroting this all year. They said during testing or in the first couple of races that the whole design was keyed off of the floor as a calculated length that was supposed to be the optimum location in relation to the flow of air directed from the front. Anything else would have held it in boundary too long and been less efficient.

They did something right, as the it didn't seem to matter what they changed, it was always quick on the straights.

[mep]

However Ferrari had a simiar wheelbase and they where clearly quicker.
Seems like Mercedes has a general problem with keeping the flow attached. Not just on the diffusor but also on the rear wing.

[Giblet]

Oh of course, I am not saying that Mercedes made the right decision, but that they had specific aero reasons for making it that way.

[mep]

Yea but its not just that they took the wrong decission, Ferrari obviously did the same, they also didn't manage to get it working as Ferrari did. So even if the short wheelbase had been good they would still be to slow.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Yea but its not just that they took the wrong decission, Ferrari obviously did the same, they also didn't manage to get it working as Ferrari did. So even if the short wheelbase had been good they would still be to slow.

The Ferrari wheel base may have been shorter than RB and McL, but the W02 was by far the shortest car on the grid.
It was almost comically SWB.

There is almost no correlation between the concepts.

[mep]

I dont think so, the overhangs are very well defined by the regulations.
The wheelbase is therefore pretty well defining the actual car length.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I dont think so, the overhangs are very well defined by the regulations.
The wheelbase is therefore pretty well defining the actual car length.

Check the comparisons. Ferrari had a longer wheelbase than the Renault R31, which in turn had a longer wheelbase than the W02.
Giblet was right in what he posted that the Mercedes ethos behind the W02 was a shortened car to create as little disturbance of the airflow coming from the front to the diffuser as was possible, the shortest route worked out best for their particular idea.

Not necessarily the best idea overall. But it worked out to be the 4th best idea....

[mep]

Why should I check some pictures when the rules clrearly say how the car has to look like behind the rear axle and in front of the front axle?
Therefore the car with the shortest wheelbase will be the shortest car.
Simple as that.

[allstaruk08]

how do you know the wheelbase without looking at pictures i cant find what the wheelbases on the cars are. its like your just arguing for the sake of arguing.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

This is for the W01
Thomas Fuhr (Managing Director)
Kevin Taylor (Chief Designer)
Loïc Bigois (Head of Aerodynamics) - now Willis
Craig Wilson (Head of Vehicle Engineering & Dynamics) - now Costa

I wonder who actually designed the W01, then?
Zander was long gone when the plans were presumably begun.
Kevin Taylor, who above is listed as Chief Designer, is an old hand at Brackley, but was actually at Toyota until February 2010 (see Kevin Taylor LinkedIn)

Bigois/Wilson partnership then?

ok.. Here's the AutoSport Article explaining who does what now.

[MercAMGF1Fans]

Tom Fuhr is the MD at Mercedes HPE (or HPP as it's now known as)
Career Profile:
With over 20 years experience in the automotive industry with Mercedes-Benz, Thomas Fuhr took on the position of Managing Director at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines in Brixworth, UK at the start of 2009. Thomas led the company as it rose to the challenge of providing Formula One engines to three teams and the implementation of the KERS energy recovery system.
For 2011, Thomas continues in his role as Managing Director at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines with the company providing engines and KERS systems for the works team MERCEDES GP PETRONAS, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Force India.