I have to say that I felt a little sorry for Rosberg this morning when the car was rolled out and all the photographs were shouting "Michael! Michael!" to make him look their way and nobody was shouting "Nico!" He looked a little lost there. He will need a lot of mental strength IMO, or just put up an "I don't care" attitude. It's not something that Michael does or the team does, but it must be hard. On the other hand Michael has the hype and the pressure on his shoulders, so that's not easy either.

So have the new teams. They've chosen not to use what's on offer. Super Aguri started off with a 4 year old chassis, these new teams have had access to 2010 toyotas and bmws.

Don't think it is a simple diffuser. I count about 6 (feel free to correct me) layers of the diffuser.

I think you're counting some 'elements' of the diffuser as seperate layers.

What gearbox is the car using? Surely not the honda one anymore? Right?

What gearbox is the car using? Surely not the honda one anymore? Right?

???? Why is that a problem?
BAR-Honda-Brawn, now Mercedes always had top gearbox technology.
BAR-Honda were the first team to run a full carbon-fibre gearbox reliably.
Also one of the first to introduce a quick-shift gearbox in F1.

That's a very good point. The gearbox was one of the weaker aspects of last year's Brawn.

When, why, how?

Only mechanical retirement and cause of mechanical grid penalties for the Brawns all year was the gearbox. Rubens took 2 unscheduled changes over the season and retired in Turkey with a gearbox issue.

Video of Massa passing Schumi's W01:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=botoXcBso5w...player_embedded

Only mechanical retirement and cause of mechanical grid penalties for the Brawns all year was the gearbox. Rubens took 2 unscheduled changes over the season and retired in Turkey with a gearbox issue.

I love the clapping. OMG, Felipe passed Michael during practice!!!!

???? Why is that a problem?
BAR-Honda-Brawn, now Mercedes always had top gearbox technology.
BAR-Honda were the first team to run a full carbon-fibre gearbox reliably.
Also one of the first to introduce a quick-shift gearbox in F1.

???? Why is that a problem?
BAR-Honda-Brawn, now Mercedes always had top gearbox technology.
BAR-Honda were the first team to run a full carbon-fibre gearbox reliably.
Also one of the first to introduce a quick-shift gearbox in F1.

Now that I'm used to the livery. The good and the bad. Lets get the bad first:

Definitely not fond of the black bits. The nose and wavey snot lines looks a bit...odd (I can't think of another word). Something a bit more discreet might have looked a bit more in peace with the rest of the design.

The same can be said for black background of the "Mercedes-Benz" on the engine cover (which, for the record, is the worst bit of the livery). That black shadey patch doesn't appear to follow any sort of contour or..well..anything for that matter. It's just there. And the front part (the part nearest to the front of the car) of the boundary of that black patch is smooth and defined, while the rest of the boundary has more of a washed out apearance. It doesn't fit well at all.

So their use of black as an aesthetic measure (as opposed to a functional measure - the writing etc) is a bit helter scelter and without much coordination. But I love the silver! It just screams Mercedes!! My dad had a 300SE many summers ago and I swear its the exact same colour! Gorgeous! The use of turqoise is very discreet and tastefull and I think it goes well with the silver. And I'm in love with the red letters on the white backgrounds! It looks classic. Some criticised the wavey silver detailing on the bodywork. Me? I love it.

All of this is, of course, IMHO. Some like it, some don't. Nothing new.


EDIT:
Where the HELL is AMG?! I was SOOOOO looking forward to seeing it on the car..
I'll be more than happy seeing one (but preferably both) of these baby's chasing down and voilently harassing a macca or ferrari. Bring on Feb1!

I wouldn't bother looking at the W01's current diffuser, as it's nearly identical to the one raced at the end of last season
(except for the new rear crash structure running through it)
Singapore/Suzuka 2009:

Totally agree with you. Brawn was offered the McLaren transmission but decided to stay with Honda's own carbon fibre case version. It was pretty reliable even though it was mated to a different engine.
Don't forget that Honda won an award for it's gearbox in 2004. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2004/10/2400.html

Have you noticed that tandem BAR-Honda actually hasn't accomplished much on the track until Ross came along? In my understanding they had left behind a facility in reasonable shape, but the car concept...? Never anything original which could produce results. There is no Honda's vehicle related technical heritage as far as I can see.

You probably weren't cheering for BAR Honda in 2004. Maybe you missed them finishing second to Ferrari in the constructors' championship with 119 points and 11 podium finishes. At that time David Richards was hailed as the messiah. In 2006 Honda scored their first win. Sounds like they managed to accomplish something.
The award winning carbon fibre gearbox technology that Honda developed is still being used. Surely the gearbox qualifies as Honda heritage not to mention the facilities and personnel who have been with the team since it was called British American Racing. Villeneuve's original race engineer, Jock Clear, worked with Barrichello last season. Don't be a 'Honda heritage' denier.

Haha, I just had someone try to convince me that the two holes carved into the engine cowling under the airbox (are there even two holes there? I can see where they might be, but I can't tell if they actually are) are a form of "secret turbocharger" that has been made without compressor, turbine, cooling system or any means to recycle exhaust gases to drive the system. This "secret turbocharger" puts air into the engine where it is burned and then forces it - still pressurised - into the diffuser ...

Fixed.

Have you noticed that tandem BAR-Honda actually hasn't accomplished much on the track until Ross came along? In my understanding they had left behind a facility in reasonable shape, but the car concept...? Never anything original which could produce results. There is no Honda's vehicle related technical heritage as far as I can see.

What gearbox is the car using? Surely not the honda one anymore? Right?

I don't know the answer to that one but I do recall Brawn saying that last years car had been a compromize with the late arrival of the Merc engine and the mating of engine and gearbox had resulted in less than desireable CoG. This year will be different and I suspect they are still using their own gearbox but modified to suit the Merc engine and get a better CoG.

Don't get me started.

As a collective, the team has not functioned well and all credit to Brawn (and Nick, yes Nick Fry, for completely changing the technical leadership as of 2007) for turning it around.The big changes in the aero department started in 2007 with a huge influx of new talented aerodynamicists from various teams, of which we are seeing the fruits now.
Add Ross Brawn's excellent leadership and the Mercedes engine and you have a winning team.

I think the problem with last year had more to do with the shape of the engine bay than actually mating the gearbox to the engine. After all, the car was designed around the Honda engine, and the Mercedes was a last-minute addition.

Brawn believes that heading into a second season with Mercedes - this time with a rear end designed around the German manufacturer's engine – will help strengthen the team's bid to retain its titles.

"The main thing for us is that it’s the second year of working with Mercedes," said Brawn.

"It should be a much better installation because we've had an opportunity to begin early and have the sort of exhaust system that we need, design the gearbox properly for the engine, design the chassis properly for the engine, put the right coolers on... all of those things.

"Obviously we've had a good run into installing this engine in the car, so things like the cooling system and the airbox have been developed a bit more thoroughly in the new car.

"The car is too heavy, the centre of gravity is too high, and there are things which are not good on the car which will be fixed for next year. You can't put an engine in a car in six weeks when it normally takes six months, without making some compromises."

Add Ross Brawn's excellent leadership and the Mercedes engine and you have a winning team.

Scary when you think that the Brawn last year was a 'compromised' car.

I've a feeling they'll be very strong this year. Right now, it seems Mclaren and Ferrari are getting all the talk, but underestimating the Mercedes is probably a big mistake.

Hopefully you are right. I'm keeping my hopes alive by thinking back of 2004 when Ferrari didn't look any special in pre-season testing, in fact it was Renault and McLaren taking the headlines mostly. Then in the last week of testing: bang, the Ferrari showed its real pace and shocked everybody - and this proved to be the true picture through the season. And it was a certain Ross Brawn at charge in that team.....

... and it was mostly down to the BS tyres.

We have just learned, the Mercedes uses the front wing and diffuser of last season. This may explain the poor performance of Nico Rosberg.

source: www.f1-direct.com via Google translate