Matt2725 wrote: ↑04 Jul 2025, 09:22
McLaren signed a deal with Mercedes I want to say, two years ago to have more involvement in the PU development.
I would then imagine they too would now have an office within the walls of Brixworth, just like Williams.
For years now, there's plenty of evidence(both from what we have seen, but also how they physically operate) that customers aren't treated in a dispensary fashion
a la here's your lot and get on with it.
McLaren had the jump on Merc with exhaust blown diffusers developed with Brixworth.
Also, some "Williams" staff at trackside are in fact the Mercedes HPP staff who co-develop team or even driver specific maps. The assumption that Merc palm off dimensions and specs with the customer never seeing it or having actual access is illusory.
Detractors citing the Lotus 2015 example so often ignores that Grosjean popped Merc PU in it's first race due to Lotus not having optimal installation or cooling because of the late switch from Renault to Merc PU.
Lotus being cashstrapped had to opt for conservative maps and a lower customer tier than that of Williams/Force India to ensure longevity and that the team wasn't left with a fat bill year end.
Maps made available to Grosjean in the race where he defended vs Vettel (i think)were not accessible to Lotus due to a litany of issues outlined above.
If Merc want to offer that free and Lotus want to take the risk on the engine pool, that's on them.
The Phase documentation gave Lotus what they paid for. I'll try find the Cowell interview on this but it definitely resides on this forum somewhere.
