Mercedes AMG F1 W03

[dren]

Nico's last stint was horrible. Either the tire choice wasn't working as expected, or he was in some sort of fuel save mode. I thought he ran out of gas on that last lap. On the other hand, Schumacher looked racey. They are right about where we thought they were, right behind Mclaren and Red Bull.

[Joie de vivre]

wouldn't it be better if they lower the body of the rear and revise exhaust outlet so the flow of the air and exhaust be flowing much more smoother to the diffuser

[pocketmoon]

IMO All the stints sucked. The F-Duct looks like it's great for Quali but the W03 looks just as far behind McLaren and RB as last year. Even Alonso was held up - once past Nico he was 0.5s quicker. I guess I was hoping for a podium that wasn't just the usual suspects

[aduka11]

wouldn't it be better if they lower the body of the rear and revise exhaust outlet so the flow of the air and exhaust be flowing much more smoother to the diffuser

As you can see the rear of body is falling down to the rear...whould it be more logical then just to move the exhaust bit further to the back?

[Ferraripilot]

The car is fundamentally good. I don't see how a car with this type of qualifying prowess can not be further translated to successful race pace. I suspect the rear suspension geometry is going to be updated soon to put so more heat in the rears as I believe that is where the problem lies. Once tires are out of the heat window of operation they just will not work right. If Ross and Also don't have this worked out in the next few races than the season will be over before it really began so here's hoping. I see it as a similar situation F150 had at the beginning of the season though.

[clipsy1H]

IMO All the stints sucked. The F-Duct looks like it's great for Quali but the W03 looks just as far behind McLaren and RB as last year. Even Alonso was held up - once past Nico he was 0.5s quicker. I guess I was hoping for a podium that wasn't just the usual suspects

far behind RB? sure not... Schumacher manage situation with Vettel and im sure if Seb overtake him Michael can stay behind him with DRS open.
Car is good in QUALI and ok in Race they need to do something cuz in Race cant use f-duct all time mb in China Merc will have a new exhaust position


EDIT: mb= maybe

[Ferraripilot]

wouldn't it be better if they lower the body of the rear and revise exhaust outlet so the flow of the air and exhaust be flowing much more smoother to the diffuser

They aren't going with that style design as their intention appears to be to keep the coke bottle section tucked in tight in that area taking better advantage of the air coming around the sidepods than the flow over the sidepods. Also, their exhaust system essentially charges some of the air coming over the sidepods. It's a different and cleaner system while Mclaren and Red Bull have compromised their sidepod flow for their exhausts. Different and that may be helping their slow traction a little.

[raymondu999]

mb

mb?

[aduka11]

The car is fundamentally good. I don't see how a car with this type of qualifying prowess can not be further translated to successful race pace. I suspect the rear suspension geometry is going to be updated soon to not put so much heat in the rears as I believe that is where the problem lies. Once tires are out of the heat window of operation they just will not work right. If Ross and Also don't have this worked out in the next few races than the season will be over before it really began so here's hoping. I see it as a similar situation F150 had at the beginning of the season though.

So who's right here...

The guy on other thread says Merc had issue with heating up tyres.

[Ferraripilot]

The car is fundamentally good. I don't see how a car with this type of qualifying prowess can not be further translated to successful race pace. I suspect the rear suspension geometry is going to be updated soon to not put so much heat in the rears as I believe that is where the problem lies. Once tires are out of the heat window of operation they just will not work right. If Ross and Also don't have this worked out in the next few races than the season will be over before it really began so here's hoping. I see it as a similar situation F150 had at the beginning of the season though.

So who's right here...

The guy on other thread says Merc had issue with heating up tyres.

It's not enough heat. Got it backwards!

[Coefficient]

The car is fundamentally good. I don't see how a car with this type of qualifying prowess can not be further translated to successful race pace. I suspect the rear suspension geometry is going to be updated soon to not put so much heat in the rears as I believe that is where the problem lies. Once tires are out of the heat window of operation they just will not work right. If Ross and Also don't have this worked out in the next few races than the season will be over before it really began so here's hoping. I see it as a similar situation F150 had at the beginning of the season though.

So who's right here...

The guy on other thread says Merc had issue with heating up tyres.

I'm optimistic for this team now and confident we will see podiums from them this year. Last year almost as soon as I saw W02 I had a feeling they had painted themselves into a corner, a development cul de sac with the short wheelbase and the exhausts in the wrong place. I just don't have the same concerns with W03. This weekend the team was sloppy and they car munched its tyres but that could be symptom of running at Albert Park. I think they will show better in Malaysia and by Barcelona they will be a real thorn in the side of Mclaren and Red Bull.

[prince]

I am failing to understand, who is right and who is wrong here, in explaining the tyre behavior.

Merc should have been the last team complaining about tyres. They took one full winter test, specifically working in understanding the new tyre behavior. The whole of the last year they struggled on tyres, if they have not learnt anything, I don't understand how can they resolve the problem in a short interval. I feel, there must be something fundamentally wrong in terms of how W03 is handling its tyres.

Can someone explain what kind of temperatures suit W03? OR would it just continue to be the same donkey as W02 was?

[clipsy1H]

I am failing to understand, who is right and who is wrong here, in explaining the tyre behavior.

Merc should have been the last team complaining about tyres. They took one full winter test, specifically working in understanding the new tyre behavior. The whole of the last year they struggled on tyres, if they have not learnt anything, I don't understand how can they resolve the problem in a short interval. I feel, there must be something fundamentally wrong in terms of how W03 is handling its tyres.

Can someone explain what kind of temperatures suit W03? OR would it just continue to be the same donkey as W02 was?

im sure they focus aerodynamics in winter and forgot tyers degradation

[Mandrake]

Well just because they didn't get it right last time doesn't mean it has to be right now.....

It could also be the case that they did it wrong in 2011 and now differently wrong in 2012 I just hope it's not the case...

[Mestrades]

I can not believe, with all due respect, that you be so blind.
The car can be "a plane" on Qualy but, what counts (actually) is the race. Consequently, you need a perfect race pace and this car has not it. That is a fact!
Compare the lap times between But and Ros before the Safety Car.



First Stint: Average Button lap time (16 laps): 1:35.200
Average Rosberg lap time (12 laps): 1:36.966
Time per lap: -1.766 (doing a shorter stint)
Second Stint: Average Button lap time (20 laps): 1:33.654
Average Rosberg lap time (19 laps): 1:34.911
Time per lap: -1.257 (doing a shorter stint)

*And McLaren say they were saving fuel due to a calculation erratic.

It's impossible to solve this loss race pace (more than 1 second per lap) only with the settings of the car. Be realistic friends, this car has not been well designed and the only chance of a podium is having adverse weather conditions or some fluke in race.