Mercedes AMG F1 Team 2012

[munudeges]

Bob Bell thought this was an excellent idea:

Costa (Made TD in Nov 2007)

Well, I would argue that the seeds of that Renault were sown from 2002 onwards when Mike Gascoyne was around. Whatever happened during that period seems to have carried on to this day, no matter what the crises, change of personnel or scandals. If Fat Norb wanted to buy a Formula 1 team that had a track record and had a fighting chance, that was it.

As for Costa, if he was as good as many think Ferrari wouldn't have been so keen to get Tombazis back in 2006 and that wouldn't have resulted in a dramatic swing in Ferrari's fortunes after 2005.

I always think you have to ask yourself who really is responsible for the success of many cars. Did they simply inherit a sound and existing car under a stable set of regulations? How well does a team seem to cope after a change in the regulations? Do they manage to keep their performance lead if they have one? What happens to a team's fortunes after someone new has been recruited? If someone highly rated has been recruited then there should be signs of improvement pretty quickly. The best always make an impact - if all else is well. They're all patterns that add up.

[Cocles]

MGP announces they will be watching Schumacher's car more closely, and suddenly he starts finishing races?

As opposed to MGP announcing they will be watching Schumacher's car more closely, then over the course of several races his car improves until it finally finishes a race. How is that better?

Here's what you're saying, "So Mercedes said they were going to fix this problem...and then they did. LOL!!"

You're literally criticizing the team for fixing a problem. This is asinine tripe.

Undeniable is the fact that MGP has been going backwards for a few months

Undeniable? Why? Because you say it is? And then you go on to label your opinion as fact. As Marcush pointed out, the real facts aren't giving us a clear picture.

[SeijaKessen]

MGP announces they will be watching Schumacher's car more closely, and suddenly he starts finishing races?

As opposed to MGP announcing they will be watching Schumacher's car more closely, then over the course of several races his car improves until it finally finishes a race. How is that better?

Here's what you're saying, "So Mercedes said they were going to fix this problem...and then they did. LOL!!"

You're literally criticizing the team for fixing a problem. This is asinine tripe.

Undeniable is the fact that MGP has been going backwards for a few months

Undeniable? Why? Because you say it is? And then you go on to label your opinion as fact. As Marcush pointed out, the real facts aren't giving us a clear picture.

That a F1 team has to do such a thing is incredible.

No other team has ever had to specifically watch over one driver's car the way MGP has. Correct me if I am wrong...I can't recall such a thing.

You don't think that signifies that there is something fundamentally wrong at MGP?

Has there ever been an instance in which such a thing has been required?

You're completely missing what my criticism regards; not that they fixed the problem, but that they needed to do such a thing. It implies they have trouble controlling what goes on in their own garages to the point, should we be really surprised that they have trouble controlling the process needed in producing a good F1 car?

I have a question for you.

Do you think the Daimler board OK's the purchase of Brawn if they know that in 2 1/2 seasons, they would have very little to show for all the money spent?

[bhall]

I don't know that it's fair to say they're going nowhere. Even when treading water, one tends to drift a bit, and that's occasionally a winning strategy these days.

[SeijaKessen]

I don't know that it's fair to say they're going nowhere. Even when treading water, one tends to drift a bit, and that's occasionally a winning strategy these days.

That's a valid point too.

Although they did drift into a win back in Shanghai, one has to wonder given that happened at the height of the tire sweepstakes, whether or not they simply lucked into it, much like Williams at Catalunya.

I do feel a pecking order has been established for 2012, and MGP is going to have their hands full attempting to maintain position. Not to say something can't happen, but it's going to have to be at Hockenheim or Singapore.

[elf341]

I think this team needs to improve their pace of development: their whole system of diagnosis, analysis and response. They do appear to be quite slow compared to the top guys.
We've known Lotus (prev. Renault) as one of the kings of development (famously bringing a new front wing to every race in 2010), and McLaren and Ferrari have clearly shown their ability to be radically quick at turning dogs into thoroughbreds (e.g. MP4-24, F2012)

Merc came to Australia with a car that was a real beast, and that perhaps with different tyres could do amazing things, but when they were faced with the prospect to seriously revise their concept they appear to have been slow. They appear to have been out-developed.

I'm sure that Mercedes know this. They already talked about Bob Bell being aghast at the technical situation when he arrived and we saw the culmination with the go ahead to bring in the other two kings, and several ex-Renault guys. I do believe they are working to improve their system - but it will probably take time.

With a formula such as this where - imo contrary to popular belief - changes are happening year on year (dd ban, fduct ban, ebd ban, pirelli tyres x 2, drs, kers, etc.) the key is quickness to adapt.

[zyphro]

... Moving on:

Schumacher sounds quite confident ahead of the weekend: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101283

[Richard]

Once again, this thread fell into the eternal abyss of debating what happened in 2010, along with personal bickering . That leads in only one direction...

Posts that sort of resemble a debate if you squint really really hard and try to give the benefit of the doubt have gone to purgatory viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13178

Posts reassembling children bickering in a playground have bee deleted.

No more posts about 3 kings, the Merc purchase, or the Stuttgart-Brackley relationship please - unless there is something genuinely news worthy with current and objective sources.

Right, lets get back to talking about the racing team in 2012 shall we?

[xpensive]

This team is royally boooring without the bitching, you know where to find me...right SeijaK?

[zyphro]

[SeijaKessen]

This team is royally boooring without the bitching, you know where to find me...right SeijaK?

Yes I do!

On topic: Nico with a 5-grid penalty for transmission replacement!

[Dragonfly]

That's pure art

[fiohaa]

im gona be sat at the last corner just opposite the pit entry tomorrow and saturday....

chose the corner specifically to see f1 cars working at their hardest, medium speed corner accelerating out.
its one of the closest places to the track too, and i just wanted to see michael working the wheel again as close as possible.

last time i was at a GP was 2004 italy...where he came from the back and half a lap down to 2nd. i think these v8's are gona be a bit of a dissapointment to those mighty V10's.

im just praying it'll rain on sunday, im more than happy to sit in a soggy wet patch if it means a schumi win. and then it'd be a soggy wet patch of my own creation.

[mep]

Oh man this team is insane.
They risk the complete weekend just to save 3 laps on the soft tire.
That is not a acceptable risk. Especially not when there is a high chance of rain.
They were lucky to make it into Q2.

[Joie de vivre]

Such a stupid move from MGP. Saving soft tyres? They should consider them self lucky and nothing more else. They ain't smart, that's for sure.