Mercedes AMG F1 W04

[user001]

Even LMP1 car can take kerbs hard now. F1 cars are design to take kerbs agressively.

as massa ripped his front suspension on his ferrari?

[NathanOlder]

The car was unreliable. You really think a driver can destroy a computer modulated gearbox and destroy a fuel pickup? Even Schumacher 8 DNF's last year were not down to him, and he is known as one of the best car nursers around.

Well firstly i would like to say i am not saying Lewis does or did cause car problems but a driver can very much influence the cars reliability. Messing your gear changes, bouncing over the curbs and many other things a driver can do could cause the issues you mention.

Also the Schumacher example is just wrong because i can name at least 2 of his DNF's that were his fault

you can name just 2 mistake for Michael (Barcelona and Singapore)... so if in Australia gearbox stop work it's Lewis fault? or if DRS remain open?

by the way according with this -> http://www.crash.net/f1/news/188277/1/h ... ances.html
car is around 1 sec off the pace.

To be honest I don't think anyone can tell if they are 1 second off the pace, even mercedes cant know. Simply because they dont know what "the pace" is. The only thing that they can know is if they were running light on soft tyres and cars were going away from them in testing. Even then they cant know how how far off the pace they are as they dont know how light the other cars are.

[Lorenzo_Bandini]

Even LMP1 car can take kerbs hard now. F1 cars are design to take kerbs agressively.

as massa ripped his front suspension on his ferrari?

Massa was over the kerb.

[Nando]

Even LMP1 car can take kerbs hard now. F1 cars are design to take kerbs agressively.

as massa ripped his front suspension on his ferrari?

Massa was over the kerb.

No he hit the kerb.

Twice.

Sleeping police men is not something the teams take into account when doing setup. They are not ment to be touched by any wheel whatsoever due to many reasons, one is cause of damage and second, you lose more then you gain. That´s why they are there in the first place.

[stefan_]

He went over the kerb and hit the bump that says "You are too far off the track".

[Phillyred]

All cars on the grid come March 17th 2013 will have their inherent reliability issues, known or unbeknownst to the team and drivers. I firmly believe some drivers based on their driving style or inherent aggression to push towards the front will test these potential weaknesses. All things being equal I think Lewis may uncover these weaknesses before Rosberg.

[ringo]

Even LMP1 car can take kerbs hard now. F1 cars are design to take kerbs agressively.

as massa ripped his front suspension on his ferrari?

A failure due to accident is not a reliability problem. A reliability problem is when a part or systems fails under no external influence.

[user001]

Even LMP1 car can take kerbs hard now. F1 cars are design to take kerbs agressively.

as massa ripped his front suspension on his ferrari?

A failure due to accident is not a reliability problem. A reliability problem is when a part or systems fails under no external influence.

found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... gsNA#t=55s

imho a suspension should withstand such driving "incidents" more than a schumacher or hamilton overdrivers the engine.

[The FOZ]

just a quick question: what factors could contribute to more downforce on an F1 car? I just think of the FW

I'd also suggest that poorly designed inlets and outlets, as well as poor internal aerodynamic design altogether, can cause lift, which would negate downforce generated elsewhere.

Can anyone confirm this theory?

[beelsebob]

just a quick question: what factors could contribute to more downforce on an F1 car? I just think of the FW

I'd also suggest that poorly designed inlets and outlets, as well as poor internal aerodynamic design altogether, can cause lift, which would negate downforce generated elsewhere.

Can anyone confirm this theory?

Without accurate models of the car, and a powerful wind tunnel, plus several months of research, no. All you're doing is guessing, and all anyone else would be doing is the same.

[windtravels]

just a quick question: what factors could contribute to more downforce on an F1 car? I just think of the FW

I'd also suggest that poorly designed inlets and outlets, as well as poor internal aerodynamic design altogether, can cause lift, which would negate downforce generated elsewhere.

Can anyone confirm this theory?

Could someone elaborate a bit on internal aerodynamics in general terms?

[turbof1]

That would be the airflow coming through the sidepods entrances and the airbox in the roll hoop. Generally, you want that airflow as undisturbed as possible. The more it is disturbed, the more drag you have. Furthermore, you don't want the internal flow to cause low pressure, which as aforementioned creates lift. So you want the air fast in, fast out; just enough for cooling (and air for the engine). The flow will also most likely get heated up and energized, so you want that air to exit the internals at a place where it can produce downforce. Hence the red bull solution: ALL of the internal airflow exits at the back of the coke bottle out of the bulged opening, right onto the beam wing and monkey seat.

It's difficult to tell how teams exactly manage internal airflow. It is always looking for a compromise between packaging, which benefits external airflow, meeting the minimum required cooling, and the internal airflow.

[user001]

just a quick question: what factors could contribute to more downforce on an F1 car? I just think of the FW

Most of the downforce is achieved by the FW, floor and Rear Wing.

the coanda exhaust makes up to about 20% in the best case.

[Owen.C93]

Heat has very little to do with energizing flow do downforce reasons. Of course if you're going to be exiting air somewhere you may as well put it somewhere you have very little of it normally. IE around the gearbox and starter motor hole and the middle of the beamwing.

[clipsy1H]

found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... gsNA#t=55s

imho a suspension should withstand such driving "incidents" more than a schumacher or hamilton overdrivers the engine.

this isn't a car failure.... was absolutely normal... what you can expect when he hit with over 140 kph the kerb? if you look closely you'll see that he touched grass first and after hit the curb and between these two is a difference in height.

and about downforce... you can't find downforce over night in last 3 years downforce was the main problem for them (beside tires issue). For a good downforce you need a good aerodynamic package
So this is the reason why i don't believe to much in Mercedes this year... with almost no regulation change it's almost impossible to come in 3 months with an amazing car. In last 4-5 races car was over 2 sec off the pace. Like Lewis said new parts will bring time but with new parts comes all teams. Will be amazing if this year they can win more than 3-4 races (i said 3 because even last year they could win at least 2 if Michael didn't have that crap penalty in Monaco)