Why is that against the idea of racing? Just because they havent won a race yet doesnt mean they never will.

There is always a chance, the question is how big the chances are that they get WCC/WC again this Year?

Have Ferrari released Schumacher just because Jos Verstappen had also a chance to win WDC at some point????




Noo.....


But Brawn did, and Brawn have no Schumacher in their list (yet) ...

looks like a Honda to me..

On that note, I'm thrilled that Mercedes will now have a works team, but

......... they went out and bought the winning team, formed and built by one of their competitors..... mmmmmmmmmm... whatever!

You'd think that Mercedes would be capable of building their own winning team.

I wonder what commercial "partners" (sponsors) would suit Mercedes...

McLaren's?

Boss, SAP (both currently at McLaren), Siemens (former McLaren), T-Systems, Würth, Puma (all with BMW until '09), Bosch, Trigema (that'd be awesome ), Trilux (more and more night races coming up ), Blaupunkt,... they just came to my mind.

Exxon Mobil will jump ship according to reports, as they are tied to Mercedes.

bwin and Becks are on the board for 25 million pounds.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80211

"You never know in life. I keep my door open, but definitely I'm dealing closely with some team."



Am I completely out of context of reality to think that Trulli is in line with Meredes drive 2010?

While this thread is about the new Mercedes-Benz W 2010, the new Silver Arrows car, the possibility of Trulli joining Mercedes GP is a shocking one.
Could Jarno finally show his worth? Would Ross Brawn take him after all these years? How would Trulli fare against Rosberg?

I still think that Kimi at Mercedes GP would be the best option for all concerned (or at least for us fans....)

Bring on the new car!

Turun Sanomat reported a few days ago that the rumours are not correct and that Mobil will stay with McLaren.

Why not Mobil at Mercedes and McLaren? Same engine, same lubricants?

They may have an exclusivity arrangement: they deal with the Mercedes works team first and foremost. If the customer teams use Mobil lubricants, that's okay - but it's the Mercedes team they work with, and the Mercedes cars that will carry their branding.

Turun Sanomat reported that Mobil will stay with McLaren.

I got my wires crossed: I meant an exclusivity arrangement with McLaren, not Mercedes. Sorry. Unless that particular publication is reporting they'll run with both?

A scandalous throught just occurred to me :
Mercedes has had the best kers system of 2009. Around mid-year, all of the teams reached an agreement not to use it in 2010, on the grounds of cost. But Mercedes wasn't a team at the time, so wouldn't have been part of that agreement.
Kers is completely within the rules for 2010 - it's only a "gentlemen's agreement" for the teams not to use it.
I wonder ...

Don't think the KERS system belongs to Merc.

KERs is no longer within the rules for 2010

Last time I looked, it was still in the technical regulations. It was only an agreement between the teams not to use KERS, I don't think the FIA took regulatory note of it.

I firmly believe Mclaren are going to be spoiled by sponsors wanting to sign on. Not least because of LH/JB effect but because of the general perception that they are going to be the team to beat next year. I don't see the combination of Rosberg/Heifeld attracting sponsors away from Mclaren.

That's not the way I remember the latest developments on the subject but you may well be right. I really can't be bothered to look it up.

http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/1...20-%20CLEAN.pdf

Article 5.2 is a clear indication that KERS is still allowed.

Yes it does.
http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/pr...s-supplier.html

Kers with the much larger fuel tank this year...?

Is that feasable?

I would have thought that the increased weight and size requirements of both those elements together would really put a strain on the cars performance...

KERS is allowed by FIA regs, but FOTA members signed an agreement that it won't be used anymore [2010 at least].

Williams intended to use their new KERS, but moved on about the idea.

Rosberg announcement:

Nico Rosberg: “I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows re-launch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes. No other brand in Formula 1 can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing. I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn. I am more motivated than ever and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season at Bahrain on 14 March 2010.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: “We are delighted to welcome Nico Rosberg to our Mercedes team and are very much looking forward to working with him. Nico is a great talent, and with four years of experience in Formula 1, is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset. I had the pleasure of working with his father Keke during his Formula One career and it is great to see Nico following in his footsteps. 2009 was Nico’s best season in Formula 1 to date and we look forward to seeing his development continue with us at Mercedes next year.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “I saw Nico racing karts alongside Lewis Hamilton and later in the support programme of the DTM events – I have known him since he was a young boy. Early on it was obvious that he would make his way as a race driver and we are glad that after four years with Williams he will now be one of our drivers at Mercedes. It makes our re-start even nicer, that we have as talented and sympathetic a driver as Nico in our line-up. Nico has positive ambitions, we have positive ambitions and together we want to achieve a great deal. I am really looking forward to working with him

Nico Rosberg?

Wow, I never saw that one coming!

Woops, Nico is thinking he is joining Ferrari

http://cdn.images.autosport.com/editorial/1258976308.jpg

I wonder if he now has been released by Williams to start work with Mercedes right away.
This promotional picture suggests he may have been released.

Mercedes Benz founded 1881

Enzo Ferrari born 1898

Who won more WDC AND WCC?

who banged most chicks and invaded most countrys?

He speaks about heritage, not reults.

In F1, or "motor racing" ?

Well, he said motor racing, not F1. Although there, too, it's debatable whether Mercedes has a longer or more successful tradition than, say, Renault. But it's the sort of thing you're meant to say when you join a team.

Indeed; MB have one of the most enduring racing heritages of any car company. Ferrari have a great racing history, but they're not alone in that capacity.

Luca, it stings, doesn't it? Why don't you come up with a rant at your blog called 'news' at ferrari.com already.

Why didn't they announce both drivers at the same time? There must be difficulties making the contract. I don't think it would have been an issue with Heidi.. I just hope the Robertsons are not messing it up again.

Looks like he has been released, so seat fitting and simulator work can start asap.

I think Mercedes wants, and needs, the maximum exposure they can get. To have announced Schumacher at the same time as Rosberg would have stolen the lime light from the latter and also, they want to build up the tension for a mother of all releases later on. I think Schumacher is a done deal, otherwise Mercedes would have denied the rumours much more forceful than they have since any other driver announced, except Schumi, would be a real disapointment to the public. Mercedes need Schumacher badly to quell the criticism for having taken over Brawn, when many seems to think that a pull out from F1 was needed to save jobs and so on. Raikkonen would not do the same for MErcedes in that sense.

Mercedes would be out of their tree to commit to Schumi without testing though. It would only need his neck problem to reappear and that would be the end of it, and the German media would be slating MercGP left and right. And they know from the Summer that only an F1 test can prove the neck is going to be OK.

We don't know the truth behind Schumachers F1 test. The neck problems could have been a convenient excuse.

What do you mean, he wasn't fast enough and gave up?

Not just his neck either; what about pace? Surely they need at least one day testing before signing a 41yo with a dodgy neck who's not raced for 3 years.

I know that's no a real yard stick, but looking at Schumacher's performance at RoC some weeks ago, he still got it.

However I don't think he will be in the 'silver arrow'. There's just to much to lose and little to gain for him, he's associated with Ferrari like no other present racing driver, even though his marketing value is undoubtedly huge he'd blast Mercedes' ethic of low(er) costs and budget for salary... there are quite a few more reasons...

In case the neck was the stumbling block then Mercedes and Schumachers spokeswoman could have denied the rumours flat out since they only serve to damage Mercedes. The Schumacher rumours are growing wild at the moment and if Mercedes didn't want that to happen, I believe their pr department would be a heck of a lot smarter than to let it continue. If the rumours continue any announcement in the future will be met with a lot less enthusiasm if the driver is anyone else but Schumacher. The way Mercedes are acting on this issue, the more convinced I am about Schumacher actually joining the team. That, or Mercedes don't know their own best when it comes to pr.

It's quite amusing how some of you get played by the media.

Eddie Jordan starts a stupid rumour 'becuase he saw Schumacher talking to Zetsche and Brawn' and suddenly there's a feeding frenzy.

Mercedes has no interest in a flat out denial because it keeps people talking about them and it's free publicity. Why should they stop.

Because they have nothing to gain from these rumours. How can this kind of publicity be positive when it will only make people dissapointed in the end (if Schumacher will not drive for them)?

It is clear that Mercedes doesn't control the information at the moment and I would have expected them to act differently if they thought that the rumours were damaging to them. This far, they have not moved to take control of the situation.

Everybody talks about Mercedes. That's always good as long as they're not speculating about something that reflects negatively on the image of the company.

Last week it was mostly about Button to Mclaren in the press.
Now the F1 press is obsessed with Schumacher to Mercedes. I'm sure Mercedes prefers the latter.

Well, I'm sure it will make Heidfeld look like a real exciting prospect.

Expect Mercedes to leak the info about Schumacher to their team but Ferrari blocking the move.
Then Everyone will blame Ferrari for not allowing the return of the Great One.
And Mercedes as the good guys that tried to make it happen.