The neck™!

Excellent!

AMuS today:

. Sein Dienstantritt soll schon kommende Woche bei den Testfahrten in Jerez (10.-13.Februar) erfolgen.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be in the cockpit.

Well, it says his duties will start at the tests at Jerez.

Any decent resolution pictures from the W01 steering wheel? (It should be similar to last year anyway.)

I wonder how well Schumacher is adapting to a new steering wheel philosophy after so many years of customized versions at Ferrari. Having said that, with the standard ECU this is less of a factor.

I guess they need more feedback and with heidfeld's experience why not. i bet if he tests more then few days the rumors of schumacher neck will spread like wildfire again

Any news on the Mercedes engine and what work has been done on fuel consumption? Seems like Ferrari have tinkered with their engine, well has Mercedes done?

With so little testing, I highly doubt Nick will get to drive the car.

I don't think the situation is so bad that we should expect Mercedes fight with Campos.....

Well, I don't mind it much if Michael won't have a winning car right away. That would be too easy. He really doesn't need to prove anything any more. Give him a winning car and he will win like a machine, we already know that. If the car is not that strong it may be a lot more interesting and exciting for him and for us as well.

I'm reasonably certain that while Schumacher might be fighting against the Renaults, neither of them will be anywhere near Campos unless Dallara manage to produce the Brawn of 2010.

I agree. I have always said that what showed how truely masterfull MS is was his performance in the 1998 season. Taking the title to the line in inferior machinery. If he wasn't there it would have been a dull year.

Throw in the years you have mentioned along with 1999 and 2006 too.

Nick in Brackley:
http://twitpic.com/11d09z

Mercedes want the titles..but guess what so do Ferrari, Mclaren, RedBull and all the others.
They all have great drivers, trying to prove something.
@Ferrari you have Alonso brought in as a champ, you have the hungry Massa
@McLaren you've got Lewis & the reigning WDC!
@RedBull you've got Webber and the "future star" Vettel..
What about the rest of the teams?

It's difficult to predict how it will end. Obviously there is on WDC title available and one WCC...and that's it.

They all want to win it, now if Mercedes will do it, or others will...we can just wait to see.

I will be happy to see michael return, fight, give it all..and we will look in november if he managed to get the job done.
For now it's just testing for a long season ahead. We will be having cars brought spot on, that will deliver, we will have teams stealing points from the other ones, we will be having strange races (strategy etc), crashes, SCs.....a lot can happen
As Michael pointed they have to prepare as hard as possible and try to gather as many points possible.
When you draw the line you hope you've got enough

Let's hope we just have a great racing year awaiting!

Nico confident mercedes will be at the top in Jerez -- [Bild] -- [based probably on F1.com interview]

Poor quick nick, guess his manager was not quick enuf.

There have been mounting rumors about the diffuser rules still not being clear enough. Namely Ferrari seems to be worried about some other teams coming up with even more radical solutions just on the borderline of the rules.

We know the W01 has kept the new diffuser a secret and Red Bull is delaying the car launch.

How likely is it that both Mercedes and Red Bull are still finishing the CFD design/testing of diffusers which could be so far fetched that other teams would immediately protest?

Delaying the introduction of such a revolutionary element to the final stages of testing or even Bahrain would allow them to race before any FIA decision.

Doesn't matter when they introduce it the FIA won't rule on it's legality until scrutineering at Bahrain. Only then can anyone protest if it's allowed.

In Valencia, Ross said on this on a question about a possible diffuser row:


To me this implies there are interpretations that could be disputed.

Good post Mike - it's shaping up to be a really fun year and I'm sure there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way. I've never seen so much interest in testing before, which reflects the level of excitement I think. With so many teams that could be contenders, really interesting driver combinations at those teams, 4 new teams and 2 bought out teams hitting the grid plus refueling banned and a small (but significant) move towards more overtaking last season - it's one highly anticipated season.

Yeah, whatever the outcome of the WDC is this will for sure be an interesting season. In particular I'm excited by:

1. Schumacher's return
2. Silver Arrows Mercedes return
3. Alonso at Ferrari
4. Alonso vs Massa
5. Schumacher vs Alonso vs Massa vs Hamilton vs Vettel
6. The ban on refueling
7. Narrower front tyres
8. Several new teams
9. Several new drivers
10. Potentially lots of interesting and decisive technical developments during the season

word on the skreet is Merc definitely have a new diffuser they will be bringing out before the first race

Let's hope one team is not poised to run away with it right out of the box. It will take several races to sort it all out, but as Seb's and Michael's fan, I am "concern citizen".

_______________

I bet there is >50% chance that FIA will face diffuser complaints.

Sharing is a good thing! :-D

When will this diffusor of destruction make its appearance? Do think at the next test? They've gotta do aero testing some time, right?

Well, if it's really revolutionary maybe they will risk relying totally on CFD.

Friday practice for the Bahrain GP would then be a nice test session.

Nahhh...

As I've written previously I think Brawn wanted to focus on the mechanical changes for this first test. Things like the new tyres and weight distribution, avoiding aero stuff. This way they can compare the 2010 data with the 2009 data, without getting confused by the extra variables of the definite 2010 aero package.

Mercedes can afford this approach since they had a good 2009 car to serve as benchmark, whereas Ferrari and McLaren had a dog.

I think they had to change their rear suspension for an extended DDD and so they just wanted to see if it works. Their diffusor of destruction will be added if the suspension works and at the last test

Yeah, the new rear suspension was modified clearly to accommodate the new diffuser. They were testing it thoroughly and placed more sensors than we usually see, even in testing:

http://images.gpupdate.net/large/144444.jpg

And, of course, in the original interview he didn't say that. He said he is confident Mercedes will be a front runner (not necessarily in Jerez, but generally).

If they delay it because it's so radical then I think the delay is more that the others won't have enough time to copy them. At least not until after the first few races.

About the diffusers,I do indeed believe Merc and Red-Bull are waiting it out so one can't copy from the other,but let's not forget Ferrari (and maybe even McLaren) have a new design they've been working on for a long time,due to be introduced as early as Bahrain...

Maybe the RB car will turn out to be a seamless diffuser front to back or vice-versa; that will be indeed revolutionary

So we have the "suspension of wrath" to go along with the "diffuser of destruction"? Game on, I say...

Michael in a competitive car with a sniff at the podium for most races would be just fine. I might even watch the majority of the races then. As much as I loved 2002 and 2004, close wheel to wheel racing is what everyone wants to see. I think Mercedes will be ok out of the gate and build from there.

#3 in the final wdc standing(MS) would be a VERY good year in my book

no. only WDC counts. And you know what? he will win it

What will Frans do if he does win it?

according to the german bild, Ross said that they have issues with the tires, not reaching the optimal temperature

That was a carry over from last year. I am almost certain they would not be having the problem when they introduced their complete package.
I personally don't share the view in some quarters that they are going to be at the front - even with the new package - in the early stages of racing season simply because they lost considerable momentum last year.

Again we will see...

Anyone know what this article says? (in German)

http://de.eurosport.yahoo.com/06022010/73/...r-diffusor.html

I saw Schumacher's face and the title is: Heiße Gerüchte um Wunder-Diffusor

thats nothing, a story were theyve taken other old qoutes out of context and put them together to start speculation,

Oh ok, I only saw the diffuser bit and thought it might be interesting... can't read a word of German.

People keep going onabout Brawn getting a new diffuser but little has being said about the Merc having an entire new nose coming aswell, someone said that the current nose was ill fitting and obviously not made for the present car.

I think that's rather a function of the BGP001 front wing that the MGP W01 is sporting and due to be replaced, rather than a nose.

If you read the posts from this topic during last week we've all been talking about both a new diffuser and a new front wing. The nose cone itself should stay the same, it's already quite an innovation by adopting the v-nose style.

They might have a new diffuser but will it maximise the massive space that teams like McLaren and Renault have made. I see an aggressive single diffuser design but not a massive whole rear end diffuser like McLaren and Renault.

I think it definitely likely, given that Brawn had plenty of time to put the new one on the car, and they are stalling, probably because they want to have a jump on the competition and give them less time to react. Newey always pushes development as long as possible, so who knows with RB.


Cooper

They're just speculating about some kind of "wonder diffuser" to be shown in Jerez next week. All based on the fact that Ross Brawn invented the DDD in 2009 and also on that Costa quote about one team "being on the limit of legality". Nothing to be seen here.

I havent seen this before, but its a must for schumacher fans who might have not see nthis. (I ma not a schumacher fan by the way but i enjoyed this alot)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAmZMV3CcA

Very moving video, even if you aren't a Schumacher fan.