Mercedes AMG F1 Team 2012

[Raptor22]

Hopefully Bigoid going to Ferrari will slow them down ...

[zyphro]

So, John Owen is going to be TD, guess he and Bob Bell change the positions with Bob Bell as new Chief-Aerodynamic engineer.

Where did you pull that one out?

[zyphro]

the many heads thing is something akin to an OEM like approach...You got project managers who would be responsible for W01,02,03 and sub project leaders responsible for chassis ,powertrain and whole vehicle
And you have dedicated departments to look after cooling ,aerodynmics ,vehicle dynmaics ,calculation ,simulation etc
Considering the sheer size of an organisation like a formula 1 team it makes sense to get project and technology separated as you will have to assign workforce towards more future orientated projects and be able to use the best heads at the points of need as they arise and redistribute as necessary.
Still the fact remains that MGP again completely got it wrong in reading the season and having an idea what they were up to
considering their restructure and recruiting of recent ...the single plus remaining is they bagged podiums and actually performed as promised for this year -save the apalling reliability in Schumachers case.If that had not happened they ´d be in ok shape realistically..in touch with lotus ...and at least no worse than last year...but if is a long word in Formula 1.
RedBull showed what can be done transforming StewartGP-Jaguar into a double Championship winner .They not only hired the very best people but also heavily invested into technology ...and keep overspending AND stretching the rules be it RRA or technical regs.

I agree Marc, Mercedes are trying to implement a dynamic structure into a conservative corporate culture. It failed under Honda and its failing under Mercedes. Red Bull have the right approach. take the rules apart, isolate the ambiguity and exploit at multiple layers of execution. It works and I dig Red BUll's on the edge of the regs approach. Thats what winning is about; use the rules to help you not restrain you. Mercedes show flashes of this but it appears they are really poor attransfering technology into performance which could be indicative of too many ideas being abandoned due to conservative legal views on rule interpretation. That could be the biggest ball and chain.

Having more dynamic poeple in there to push the legal eagles back a bit could lower the dam wall and allow for technology to translate into performance

=D>

[lillschumi]

Maybe the Concorde Agreement and their lack of a directors seat is playing a part in the 'scale down' as well as their obvious crap performance. Mercedes really are not winning in any area - on the track and in the boardroom.

I wouldn't even try for 2013 either, why bother - you can't polish a turd. Put full effort into 2014 now, give yourself 1.5 years while everyone else is focussed elsewhere, cut the fat from the crew, get a couple of fresh grads in engineering with freaky ideas, get a young GP2 hot shot to drive with someone who can actually develop the car and start to bring some excitement into the world.

Start playing the bad boy - ruffle a few feathers. Get some mongrel in ya!

Blow them all away in 2014.

One problem though that this reshuffle is very late, for 2015 it will be good but 2014 then Elliot should have been onboard in the beginning of this year. So for W04 Willis, Costa and Bell cannot make any excuses becuase they have been involved from the start, Elliot can get a free card. So in mid-season 2014 if the W04 suck the Owen will get sacked and a new TD will be broght in mid season and will have impact on the 2016 program because 2015 is to late. So i would sack Owen too right now, because then they have at least got rid of some old bagage (Brawn,Bigois,Owen) and 2015 will be all fresh.

Someone provided a link on how Lotus operate with their planning of updates and next years car and it was very intresting to see how early next years car was finalized.

[ReLax]

So, John Owen is going to be TD, guess he and Bob Bell change the positions with Bob Bell as new Chief-Aerodynamic engineer.

Where did you pull that one out?

I guessed it, because Bob Bell is a well known aerodynamic engineer, which position should he get instead? Oh okay, in the article is mentioned that Elliot gets this position. Nevermind, sorry. But then, will we see Bell again at Mercedes AMG F1? Or is he in some longer "holidays"?

[zyphro]

But then, will we see Bell again at Mercedes AMG F1? Or is he in some longer "holidays"?

Yes we will - Elliot was lured in by him.

From what I'm seeing, Bell is the main architect behind the scenes.

[elf341]

I actually think Bell (technical director) switching with Owen (chief designer) is a good idea.

Owen's cars have been awful, but perhaps he is a good manager. I always dislike the way some organisations (not just F1) promote good working brains into positions of management where they cannot do the thing that made them successful in the first place.
Red Bull counter this by having the whole organisation orbit around Newey, with him even having a dedicated team of 3-4 people whose sole job is to transcribe his drawings into CAD. You get the feeling that Newey pays close attention to every part of the car.

It reminds me of an interview Geoff Willis once gave when he was TD at Honda, expressing displeasure at having to manage:

Unfortunately under the role I now have, I have less and less direct involvement with the car, I do keep a specific interest in the aero things so I certainly do still see all the aero reports and still guide the aerodynamicists in the overall concept. [...]
...sometimes its frustrating you’d love to get on the CAD and design a bot or do the analysis or whatever...

Compare (coincidentally) with how Newey brought in Willis to be TD at Red Bull so that he didn't have to do the annoying management bits:

Geoff is responsible for how the company operates technically and offers general technical leadership, leaving me free to be involved in the mid- to long-term overviews, with the opportunity to dabble in the detailed areas of engineering as I see fit.

[ReLax]

Here is a little post on a blog I found, sounds interesting.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/ ... g-rumours/

[zyphro]

The thing the team needs to get right is continuity: from within their respective positions. In that way work-flow wouldn't be disrupted.

[spadeflush]

They also need to read this thread

[xpensive]

Here is a little post on a blog I found, sounds interesting.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/ ... g-rumours/

"The team is somewhat top heavy in terms of engineering management,..."

Understatement of the year perhaps, why if John Owen really has been appointed Technical Director in the true sense of the word, the other three will have to move on, either inside or outside of the team, simple as that.

[Morteza]

So if John Owen will take the role of TD, what happens to Bob Bell? He will replace Ross Brawn?
BTW, what exactly is the position of Nick Fry in this team and what is he doing there?

[zyphro]

So if John Owen will take the role of TD, what happens to Bob Bell? He will replace Ross Brawn?
BTW, what exactly is the position of Nick Fry in this team and what is he doing there?

Last time I checked, he was acting as the CEO of the team .

I don't really care about names and titles: IMO they should evaluate the strengths of each person and set the title of their job accordingly.

[ReLax]

Here is a little post on a blog I found, sounds interesting.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/ ... g-rumours/

"The team is somewhat top heavy in terms of engineering management,..."

Understatement of the year perhaps, why if John Owen really has been appointed Technical Director in the true sense of the word, the other three will have to move on, either inside or outside of the team, simple as that.

Well, then Bob Bell will go away from Merc?
I mean seriously, he doesn't like to be in the Position he were, or in the Position Brawn is. So he want to be at the Aerodepartment, new Chief-Aerodynamicengineer ist Mike Elliot. Which seat stays left for Bell? Some simply aeroguy or will he leave MGP to another team?

[xpensive]

...
Last time I checked, he was acting as the CEO of the team .
...

But this is truly the bizarre part with this team, all those xecutives, Norby, SmallFry, RB, John Owen, Bell, Will the thrill,
the Italian Stallion, Bigois and now Elliott Ness, why I seriously believe that some radical overhead downsizing is in order?