Now that sounds better

That's why I'm not worried. Considering the entire car is designed for that front wing and the diffuser (and we've seen in 2009 the amount of difference that can make) I think they're really doing extremely well.

QA with Schumacher

sounds very positive to me

Yes, he is upbeat. I have the impression it's not just the title that would satisfy him. He is just happy to be there, to give his best and really having fun. And I think he will if he has a competitive car - and that doesn't necessarily have to mean the best car. It may even be more fun to watch them and their development (hopefully improvement) over the season if he doesn't have the best car.

I believe MGP has purposely focused on mechanical grip balance as well as general reliability this week. Hence why they didn't bring the new aero parts. This way they can have a better benchmark with last years car without the added variables of a new wing and diffuser. The new front tyres and CoG changes mandated by the extra fuel tank capacity are enough changes to test within such limited time.

The comments by Michael, Nico and Ross all point in this direction.

Once they've sorted this out they'll mix in new variables with the aero updates during the next tests. I believe this approach is smart and should allow them to maximize both the mechanical and aero grip without getting confused.

Some thoughts:
Greatest comeback of 2009 -- Lance Armstrong. 3rd at Tour de France. Alberto Contador was the winner
Greatest comeback of 2010 -- Michael Schumacher. Will he also be 3rd? Will Fernando Alonso be the WDC???

http://twitpic.com/117ani

Mercedes are introducing a pitlight system.

What

Did Schumy pee in the car

So who will be the first to leave pits with 3 out of 4 wheels, NR or MS

Interesting. They were testing the system in 2008 to use in 2009, but they'd shelved the idea for some reason.

maybe it makes sense, since there is no refueling? may simply be faster way,,,

I think the system works with sensors which can be overruled manually.
Possibly the system can sense when all tires are fitted and jumps to green.
A manual override can be done when there's traffic in the pit lane or some other issue.

This is significant as it says something about their simulation, which suggested a different weight distribution than they are currently running.
The car has a relatively short front bulkhead, which usually is an indication of a more forward weight distribution. Possibly too much weight to the front?
I hope they have enough scope to move weight to the back of the car.

I can understand potential benefits, but if I would be assigned to mount tires, I would be interested to know what's in place so I do not get hurt when driver see GO, and my foot is in the front of a wheel...

Maybe it's desinty that Schumacher has to do some 1998 type against the mclaren flankers with extreme strategies to get points and the odd win, and show the fighting mentality which sometimes is more entertaining in the brazil 2006 sense, then getting pole and running away, he's the one who can entertain us, but if Mercedes are strong cool.

In 2010, the ferrari becomes the mclarens, and Mercedes is Ferrari in a 1998 style season, watch out for Hungary 2010 and Schuey's 3 stopper vs the ferraris, 19 qualifying laps one after the other.







Yeah, maybe they didn't even need to do so many laps at Valencia as they found out what needed to be corrected pretty soon.

And Ross Brawn had a good merchanical grip department at Ferrari, very important, especially at tracks like Monaco to get grip when you've got all the downforce your gonna get from aero.

I'm a little worried about. Everyone is assuming brand new wings and a diffuser but if it doesn't look visible on the first look then its not major.

I don't think there will be a massively different diffuser, why hide it. You want data right now as there are so few tests, so the more definitive the car the better the testing and data.

I'm surprised that the designers would have dropped the ball on the diffuser design, given the performance it gave them in 09 and the fact that they knew Ferrari and McLaren would come back heavily in this area. They would need to at least match them in 10 for a championship shot and the diffuser now doesn't look to have extended the rules like others have.

PS - I think changing the weight distribution and improving the handling will bring the lap times closer to Ferrari and McLaren which have both had good handling immediately. Mercedes needs to make sure they invest in the team for development to continue.

That's a valid point. Ross makes it sound that the change is easy and will be done for the next test, but you build the car based on a fundamental belief in the weight distribution. If those simulations are wrong then its difficult to change because you haven't got alot of scope for weight change given the heavy fuel loads and the fact that weight is key to 10, and any extra for handling is going to be detrimental to performance.

They are testing the DNFS for Nicos car, the secret system to be used if he´s infront
of Schumacher

In a previous post I've come up with what I think is a good explanation for not bringing the new aero package for the very first test:

2010 is all about changes into the mechanical grip. The narrower front tyres and the change in the CoG that the extended fuel tanks bring are two major differences to the normal mechanical grip balance.

Maybe MGP wanted to have a good benchmark against the 2009 car focusing only on the mechanical balance. By leaving the new aero parts out it will be easier to understand and tweak weight distribution without getting confused as there are less variables to play with (no 2010 spec wings and diffuser). Further, the comparison with last year's car will be almost linear. Testing everything at the same time could let them wondering whether the gains were coming from the mechanical or the aero side.

Brawn is a smart guy and knows how to make the best out of these limited testing days. Which isn't necessarily testing everything at once.

From what I gather (been snooping around a while):

a) one of the reasons modified components off last year's car were being tested is the increased reliance upon CFD and the necessity of validating the data against last year's model. I'm not entirely sure if the floor is a new solution,but they have had to use the old diffuser to compare underbody flow from the two cars.

b) the rear geometry of the car has been designed to accommodate a larger diffuser,suggesting it does not necessarily have to be an update of the current design.

c) the exhausts will not,obviously,be raced with in their current configuration,but apparently this was done to minimize interference with underbody flow.

d) the 'radical' air intake at the top is yet to serve its (secondary) design function,which will probably kick in once (and if) the new diffuser is in place.


Some of this has been discussed on the forums at f1technical.net. An interesting point that was made related to Ferrari and McLaren's approach for 2010: as they've had to approach the aerodynamic design of their 2010 cars from scratch,they would have little useful data from last year to compare at the test. Which is the not the case with the W01 as there's enough data from its successful predecessor to make meaningful comparison possible,probably why Brawn chose not to reveal/test their new aero package this early.

Your snooping agrees with my prediction and adds a few interesting points.

As you've mentioned, Ferrari and McLaren had to start from scratch since their 2009 design had to be dumped. Thus why they need to test the full 2010 spec car as soon as possible.

Mercedes on the other hand is more of an evolution from last year and can somewhat rely on data from 2009, unlike the other two. Also focusing on the mechanical balance only will allow them to better compare with last year's data since the current car's aero package is more or less the same. The radical air intake seems to be there waiting for some modifications at the rear end, hence not providing an advantage yet. Both the new diffuser and the bodywork around the exhausts should take advantage of the air flow coming from the new air intake. Further, the front wing should aid the flow into the radical intake.

It's all about the full package working together, as always.

very good observations
mercedes seems to be the only team so far having used last years car as a base for the 2010 car, so they have a different approach with testing

Much like the F2004 was an evolution of the F2003 and wasn't anything special in the first winter tests. Then we all know...

I'm more and more getting the impression that during this test, aerodynamic evaluation was not a priority. The team, instead, focussed on mechanical evaluation. They keep on talking about balance and weight distribution. Their using modified 2009 aero bits supports this theory. Thus, comparing testing times is strictly speaking not a fair comparison.

Nevertheless, Michael would have known this when he said they don't expect to fight for wins immediately. So he saw something in the Ferrari (presumably) that suggests that the planned updates are still not enough to bring it on par.

Well, somebody send a couple of trucks worth of extra strength coffee to Brackly, Brixworth and Stuttgart, get everyone in the buildings and lock the doors until the next test.

Buckle down fellas and get to work!

MS was always good at downplaying the performance of the car in testing.

The important thing is that I have had zero expectations for this season-never expected Brawn/Mercedes to be right at the top,winning races straight away,so nothing has,in this sense,changed. I'm just hoping MS stays on for at least the duration of his contract (3 years) so we could see MGP return to the front soon.

And it's been three years since I followed the development of a car closely (last one being the 248F1),so I'm looking forward to this season!

Same
It will be the first season since 2006 I will fully follow in every detail, as with the return of MS my passion has also returned.
Actually I was so bummed by his retirement that I didn't watch any race in the 2007 season

+1

Nico: "We will fight at the front"

and then he added: I hope!

OfficialMGP Nick Heidfeld signs for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS http://tinyurl.com/ybtxayl

Just like me. I missed following the development of a car closely!

Looks like they've identified some vices of the car and will be correcting it in time for Jerez. Hopefully we can be a bit more competitive by then. I don't know by how much though.

"We are cracking exhausts and are having to change those every 150-200km. It's a problem we can fix but here it's difficult. We've got a handling imbalance because we are all learning about these tyres here and we've seen straight away some things we want done on the tyres which we'll have done by Jerez."

http://en.espnf1.com/mercedes/motorsport/story/8143.html

I reckon the W01 is behind Ferrari and McLaren (I don't buy that sauber is THAT fast). Judging by the noises Michael is making, he seems to think it may stay that way for the first part of the season.

I hope they can at least put up a respectable performance. Otherwise my Macca mates (whom I so gracefully left behind to chase my new Merc GP love) will never let me forget it.

Maybe the exhausts cracking is related to the engine cover. They're still uncovered and illegal (like Ferrari last year during early winter testing).

As for what Michael says... Well I wouldn't buy too much into it. He may simply be in ultra cautious mode or trying to lower people's expectations so that he doesn't feel so much pressure.

Let's wait for Jerez, maybe Mr. Brawn let's us see a little bit more of the W01.

It sounds like they have a handle on the problems and feel confident it will be fixed. It's hard to judge Ross really, he sounded concerned for sure but confident they'll sort the issues out. Certainly not the perfect start they had like last year. He also commented that due to his past relationship with Schumacher he is able to judge quickly how serious a particular issue is when Schumacher tells them, where as with Nico they're still learning that.. which is to be expected.

any news on the driver line up next week?

"I can’t wait to be back in the car to continue the programme in Jerez next week." -- Michael Schumacher

So at least Michael will test for sure.

Schumacher: Thursday & Saturday
Rosberg: Wednesday & Friday

thanks

mercedes article on motorsport-total (german)
translated with google

Auch auf Deutsch

Norbert Haug warnt: Neuer Silberpfeil noch nicht schnell genug http://bit.ly/aNWrDP

I think the German speaks for itself. The new silverarrow is still not fast enough.

Well with new wings and diffuser, plus move some weight back probably, how fast will it be then?

The only real problem I forsee is if the short concept isn't versatile enough for them to tune out the stodgy handling they've apparently brought forward from last year (it looked like).

I don't think Norby's really sounding a warning, just saying "more to come".

All to play for.

Interesting interview with Nico, suggesting MGP is still hiding some cards:

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2010/2/10399.html

I think we have to wait till Jerez to make an honest judgement. But in many ways the valencia test scared me. I don't want Schumacher to be fighting alongside Campos and Renault. I want him winning (or atleast fighting for wins).

He is the greatest driver in F1 and he deserves a great car. The days of fighting from the middle to the top (or in the case of 96 from the rear) are no longer necessary.

Sometimes I wish MS was a little less loyal and a little more cutthroat.

I agree, except MS is cutthroat in the right way, but he does it behind the scenes, he will push the team the right ways and not be easy to live with, Ross Brawn's own words back in 2005/2006 winter, when ferrari coming off the bad 2005 season, Michael publically actually sed "why the loss of staff recently.", there was some complacency after so much success, so he immediately dd his part to iron that out, and some days later, ferrari hired some new guys, and MS didn't take the winter off to make sure ferrari were winning again, and they did in 2006. When the italian press were calling for Jean Todt's job in 2006 after some rough gps, Michael spoke out and sed Todt is one of the team's strengths. Michael understands what's working in a team, and most of the time, the real issues he's got problems with, he'll keep it behind closed doors, which is how it should be. On camera it looks like he's being friends and making his team tea, but that's not the case behind the scenes, picture Bahrain 2005, after DNF, MS's puts a note on a door KEEP OUT!!! he was pissed, and had discussions with the team behind doors we likely wil never know about.

If people are in the direction of development after pinpointing problems, then you leave people to get on with it, Michael's feedback is precise, Ross knows that, at the same time, testing is banned more often, they only really have february. Before Michael could test, grand prix, analyse, say what he thinks, test, grand prix, analyse, say what he thinks, now there only really is February. So this is the most important month, or one of them really to understand what needs to be done.


And yeah I agree, he deserves a great car, but so much of his reputation as the best driver was done sometimes in seasons where he didn't win the title, 1996/1997/1998, contain better performances from him then the guys who won the title that year, title isn't everything, if you can't get the title, make a good fight of it, and that's where some of his best drives/laps that people talk about to this day came from.

I think this sums it up very nicely. Michael does it all behind the screens not in public and that's really classy. If he needs to work harder he will indeed that's why he didn't take the winter off in 2006 but instead worked his ass off.

Yeah, he's a low profile hard worker.

I loved the 2006 season much more than 2004 but that was until Suzuka... When that engine blew I felt a little bit like some of the posters above, he deserved that Renault R26 much more than the Ferrari 248. But well this is a totally new challenge in a new team. Michael knows it won't be an easy one, that's probably why he's signed for three seasons.

Having said that, let's take into account that in recent years the in season development pace has been greater and more influential to the outcome of the championship. More than ever a team which didn't start as the dominant force can change things during the season.

Michael input + Mercedes Petronas $$$ = fast development <- I hope.

By cutthroat I mean jumping to a better team if one team is looking to underperform. He has shown that you can get great success if you stick around and build a team (unprecedented success infact). But its not like he can stick around for another 10 years.

I don't think Schumacher should change his behind the scene style. I hate it when drivers complain in the press. Its bad for the team, its bad for the driver and it really sucks for the sponsors. But I do want him to make sure that his car isn't a dog.

Looks like Heidfeld will do some testing at Jerez (10th-13th February).

Source?