Mercedes AMG F1 Team 2012

[Dragonfly]

Seeing is believing, so I'll keep being a positive pessimist until there is a definite sign of improvement and catching up. Which I don't see almost half into the season. We don't know what goes on behind the official corporate facade. But teams that are resolute in chasing higher standing make updates, like Ferrari, and return in the game. I have the feeling that the philosophy in the team is to look for some kind of Wunderwaffe which will turn the scales, like DDRS, while others like Lotus Renault without even an aggressive exhaust solution have a more flexible to setup, faster and kind enough to the tyres car.
It's three years already with the same smoke screen talk on the background of weaker results. Getting a bit boring, knowing in advance what you gonna hear from the management.

[Raptor22]

When the three kings of AMG are not xactly my generation of technical directors, I'm desperately trying to visualize
John Barnard, Gordon Murray and Patrick Head working together in harmony, but I'm failing miserably with that one.

Murray and Barnard did not work well together. I didn't help Barnard'spointof view when Murray designed the moist successful F1 car in history either (MP 4/4).
BArnard left for Ferrari where he got his way for a while till another South African said, that having a chassis builtin England and a engine in Italy did not a Ferrari make gained traction while the Count.

Willis is probably an Alpha male tyope personality but Costa isn't much. Bell, may be reclusive but I would'nt say he's not an alpha male type He knows his worth and his shoes are still good

[Raptor22]

Dragonfly I agree 100% with your comments.For two years they line of communication was defensible. Hoever its now year three and they still regurgitate the same excuses.
I think JET has seen the light that the team is simply indefensible.

I have no doubt they will produce a good car at same point, what will always be questionable is their ability to develop it.

[Roccotanski]

xpensive: You may not have heard F1 desingers say it, but they are all compromising some aspect for a gain in another. There are some developments which yield benefit at all speeds and some that will be a slow speed gain for a high speed loss - aerodynamacists have to decide if those parts go on the car or not - and the criteria by which they make that decision differ from team to team, year to year, but the net result is that cars perform differently at differing tracks (speeds). That is obviously aside from the overall level of performance.

Oh - and i read someone say that 2009 they were lucky cos they had the DD (why is that lucky?) and that they were poor in the second half of the season: well RBR were strong at Sil & Nur, but from there onward(final 7 races) Brawn scored 1 pt less than RBR.

[xpensive]

...
Murray and Barnard did not work well together.
...

Perhaps because they never did work together?

[zyphro]

Oh - and i read someone say that 2009 they were lucky cos they had the DD (why is that lucky?) and that they were poor in the second half of the season: well RBR were strong at Sil & Nur, but from there onward(final 7 races) Brawn scored 1 pt less than RBR.

Taking into account that, Brawn had to down-size with limited funds: it was not a bad second-half of the season as some are making out.

[yener]

Haha relax guys!
When did Aldo and Bob signed in?
Didnt we all agree that their influence for the 2012 car would be minimum?

Ofcourse it's getting annoying and boring to always have to wait and see.

I think McLaren is in a much more screwed position than the AMG team. But i still hope to see signs of improvements before the season ends.

[Raptor22]

...
Murray and Barnard did not work well together.
...

Perhaps because they never did work together?

Ah yes You're probably correct. Barnard left at end of 1986 and Murray slotted in January 1987. I had it that barnard left end 1987

[Fizz.Schumi]

I think McLaren is in a much more screwed position than the AMG team. But i still hope to see signs of improvements before the season ends.

To be honest Mclaren is in the complete opposite situation to us. Their car is weak in slow corners and coming out of slow corners fast (Mechanical grip issues) where as they are strong aerodynamically but have a short operating window like the AMG as seen in Silverstone. We however are strong in and out of slow corners and have decent straight line but are really weak through the fast speed corners hence bad aerodynamically

These mercedes teams ...

[mep]

They look for a new guy in the hydraulics department:
http://www.autosport-atlas.com/dir_appo ... intid=3234

I leave that for you guys to comment on it.

[zyphro]

They look for a new guy in the hydraulics department:
http://www.autosport-atlas.com/dir_appo ... intid=3234

I leave that for you guys to comment on it.

[xpensive]

They look for a new guy in the hydraulics department:
http://www.autosport-atlas.com/dir_appo ... intid=3234

I leave that for you guys to comment on it.

Mercury-hydraulics is not the simplest of technologies, no wonder they need to beef-up that department.

[Ganxxta]

...the ability to work under minimal supervision...

They are looking for someone for MS' car...

[elf341]

Bit of opinion + predictions here:

Mercedes need the front running teams to have technical failures/DNFs in order to reclaim 4th position, and have a chance at 3rd.

I think the best chance for Merc is if McLaren take too long to fix the MP4-27 such that Button can perform. But I think right now, they are not strong enough to capitalise with big points hauls in standard conditions. The beginning of the season was actually Mercedes' period of comparative out-performance: they had a gift-horse with Ferrari lost until Spain/Monaco, they also had a gift horse with Red Bull having trouble with their exhaust philosophy, and they also had a gift horse with Grosjean retirements. If Mercedes didn't have all of the MSC technical failures, they should have an extra 30-40ish points, and remember that the other top teams would have less points so the points gap would be smaller in that scenario.

(I saw on another forum a member provide rankings based upon qualifying positions, Mercedes is actually third in that ranking.)

RB8 is the car to beat now I think. Excluding the alternator failure, RBR would have 3 wins from the last 4 races.
In terms of this season for Merc, I think the Schumacher decision is critical. If Schumacher opts to race in 2013, they will drop W03 development fairly early once they can be sure of 5th place, and concentrate on W04. If schumacher doesn't opt to race '13, I think they will continue development hoping to get him a win before the end of the season. This might mean that Mercedes pull a Force India/Torro Rosso and show strong late season performance, but poor 2013 season performance.

I hope I'm wrong!

[mep]

They look for a new guy in the hydraulics department:
http://www.autosport-atlas.com/dir_appo ... intid=3234

I leave that for you guys to comment on it.

Mercury-hydraulics is not the simplest of technologies, no wonder they need to beef-up that department.

Ah come on these mercury hydraulics are just a rumor (apart from the hydraulic J-damper).
Give me something that shows why mercury should be used instead of oil.
I really don't understand where that idea comes from.
And you even got a up vote for that comment
That is another thing I don't understand.