Rosberg expects a level playing field at Mercedes

[djones]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80987

One of two things...

Either MS is simply playing mind games with Rosberg or Brawn has clearly put him as number 1 in the team. Not only that but he is letting Rosberg know exactly what the situation is.

[WhiteBlue]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80987

One of two things...

Either MS is simply playing mind games with Rosberg or Brawn has clearly put him as number 1 in the team. Not only that but he is letting Rosberg know exactly what the situation is.

I don't agree. It conforms that Mercedes did not plan on Schumacher before Button signed with McLaren, or Ross would have reserved the #3 for Schumacher. Beyond that the whole issue has no deeper meaning IMO.

[ISLAMATRON]

i'm sure he'll do everything in his power to help his bet's odds!

I don't think so. Ross has a track record of a sensible man. He'll wait until a team order is needed IMO.

Oh i agree wholeheartedly.
It starts in Bahrain, and optimum race strategy will require Brawn choosing which driver gets it.
As a sensible man, Ross will favour his star driver.

What is optimal race strategy when there is no refueling anymore? Who comes in first for tires? Is that really an advantage?

[ISLAMATRON]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80987

One of two things...

Either MS is simply playing mind games with Rosberg or Brawn has clearly put him as number 1 in the team. Not only that but he is letting Rosberg know exactly what the situation is.

I don't agree. It conforms that Mercedes did not plan on Schumacher before Button signed with McLaren, or Ross would have reserved the #3 for Schumacher. Beyond that the whole issue has no deeper meaning IMO.

agreed, if any driver can have their mind worked over by a simple change in car number than they have already lost the battle... weak mindedness such as that would not have allowed Nico to have been in F1 in the first place.

This means nothing.

[djones]

The lowest number traditionally goes to the number 1 driver in the team.

This will 100% have an impact of Rosbergs mind set, no matter how small. These small things add up though and things like this and all the German press saying how MS will win the WDC builds and builds and builds.

MS knows this and will do everything he can to win, be the best and gain any advantage no matter how small.

[donskar]

The lowest number traditionally goes to the number 1 driver in the team.

This will 100% have an impact of Rosbergs mind set, no matter how small. These small things add up though and things like this and all the German press saying how MS will win the WDC builds and builds and builds.

MS knows this and will do everything he can to win, be the best and gain any advantage no matter how small.

Paragraph 1: agree
Paragraph 2: do not know if they WILL have an impact. If they do, Rosberg is lost.
Paragraph 3: absolutely agree. And in that sense MS and Brawn are mirror images.
All IMHO, natch.

[WhiteBlue]

I don't think so. Ross has a track record of a sensible man. He'll wait until a team order is needed IMO.

Oh i agree wholeheartedly.
It starts in Bahrain, and optimum race strategy will require Brawn choosing which driver gets it.
As a sensible man, Ross will favour his star driver.

What is optimal race strategy when there is no refueling anymore? Who comes in first for tires? Is that really an advantage?

Yep, you can pretty much forget strategy if you want to screw one of your drivers. It may be useful to watch the tyre change times and how much they screw up. Ferrari used to manage some spectacular bad pit stops in the years since the demise of the dream team.

[Fil]

It starts in Bahrain, and optimum race strategy will require Brawn choosing which driver gets it.
As a sensible man, Ross will favour his star driver.

What is optimal race strategy when there is no refueling anymore? Who comes in first for tires? Is that really an advantage?

Yep, you can pretty much forget strategy if you want to screw one of your drivers. It may be useful to watch the tyre change times and how much they screw up. Ferrari used to manage some spectacular bad pit stops in the years since the demise of the dream team.

its not about screwing one of your drivers, but favouring the other.
umm, ok so everyone is on the same fuel 'strategy' in 2010.. so would you prefer to be on lap 24 with fresh tyres, or 25 lap-old tyres?
and which would you think would be quicker at that stage..?
strategy will be how early you dare come in to grab fresh tyres to gain track position vs how long you think they can last towards the end of your stint..

there is always an optimum race strategy for this. and only 1 driver can get it per team per race.

[CHT]

4 is not exactly the best number to have as it symbolizes DEAD in Asian context (especially chinese)

[Fil]

4 is not exactly the best number to have as it symbolizes DEAD in Asian context (especially chinese)

Well now we know why Ho-Pin Tung refused to accept a Mercedes seat for 2010 then!

[marcush.]

screw this ,very rarely pilots got the same performance out of a tyre even in the same race as we have seen again and again.
As we have no more refueling ,the teams can be very very flexible on their strategies just when to call in whom .So even the window of bringing both drivers in on the same lap is actually opening quite early with say a distance of around 10 to 15 seconds if you really prepare your guys for it.
But then I´m pretty sure the time loss due to running one lap more or less than optimum on used rubber is academic .the dropoff is never going to be that dramatic
to make a major diffrence.What is influencing the outcome of the race is the ability of your pitlane guys to bring you in and out at the correct time so you can make use of the situation ,end of story.The guy who only looks at tyre performance instead of what is going on around him will never win the race ,given it is as close as we think it will be this year.Expect Ross boys doing an outstanding job there .
What is worrying me is the fact that RedBull did more often than not do either play too conservative or too aggressive ,also Ferrari seemed quite often at a loss to properly read the developing situation...testimony given by multiple mishaps in Qualy early dropouts.

[CMSMJ1]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80987

One of two things...

Either MS is simply playing mind games with Rosberg or Brawn has clearly put him as number 1 in the team. Not only that but he is letting Rosberg know exactly what the situation is.

I don't agree. It conforms that Mercedes did not plan on Schumacher before Button signed with McLaren, or Ross would have reserved the #3 for Schumacher. Beyond that the whole issue has no deeper meaning IMO.

agreed, if any driver can have their mind worked over by a simple change in car number than they have already lost the battle... weak mindedness such as that would not have allowed Nico to have been in F1 in the first place.

This means nothing.

That being the case...then why could MS not keep no 4 and stop being a girl about wanting odd numbers? If, for reasons of Devils advocacy, the teams/FIA said that they would not allow MS to take the 3 frokm Niceo..what then?

Large sulk? No difference at the end of the day to performance?

All a load of wind IMO

[Rob W]

Ha ha, this is kinda classic... The fact that they felt the need to justify the change and actually state it has nothing to do with preference is suspicious in itself.. Or not.

I can see many reasons why - especially for sponsorship reasons.. Non-technical sponsors would surely make the assumption that the lower numbered driver was the main guy... and this removes potential "how come..." questions imo.

Maybe someone should chart it and see how often the driver with the #1 (lower number) position in any team is beaten by the other guy.

Ok... 2009 Season.
Brawn: #1 - Button
McLaren: #1 - Hamilton
Williams: #1 - Rosberg
Renault: #1 - Alonso
Red Bull: #1 - Vettel
BMW-Sauber: #2 - Heidfeld (ironically, despite swapping numbers with Kubica in 2008 and 9 the driver in the "#2" position beat the other)
Toyota: #1 - Trulli
Torro Rosso: #2 - Buemi (beat Bourdais/Alguersuari combined)
Force India: #1 - Fisichella (beat Sutil without even driving the last 5 races for the team)
Ferrari: #1 - Kimi (OK, not really fair on Massa.. interestingly, this year Massa has the prime number!)

So, that's 8 out of 10 where the driver in the #1 position performed better.

2008 Season
Honda: #1 - Button
McLaren: #1 - Hamilton
Williams: #1 - Rosberg
Renault: #1 - Alonso
Red Bull: #1 - Vettel
BMW-Sauber: #2 - Kubica
Toyota: #1 - Trulli
Torro Rosso: #2 - Bourdais
Force India: #2 - Fisichella
Super Aguri: #1 - Sato (neither driver scored any points but Sato beat Davidson on positions)
Ferrari: #2 - Massa

That's 7 out of 11. Still a big majority.

[Mr Alcatraz]

Back on topic:

Haug: Merc driver will have to earn No1 billing

Norbert Haug has warned Michael Schumacher that he's going to need to put in an "extraordinary effort" if he wants number one status at Mercedes GP

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/f1/story/0, ... 72,00.html

[godlameroso]

I think Schumacher racing is just what Haug said it wasn't, a P.R. stunt, no doubt he's still fast. However, is he as fast as he used to be, and whether it will be enough to be faster than Nico remains to be seen. The Williams car wasn't exactly fast last season, but to my recollection Nico outdrove Kazuki every time, perhaps Kaz had some bad luck, or maybe he just pushed too hard. Regardless Nico was the only one to score points, or did I miss something?