I fully expect Mercedes to have a large update as well.

Mercedes to run final diffuser in Bahrain

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81694

crazy

Good news is we finally have something official on this-all that speculation was bang on target,after all.

Bad news is we're going to have to wait a bit longer to gauge performance.

Well, they always said that they'll bring the "real" new car for Bahrain. So I never expected major updates before that.

Brawn: This is not the definitive car, the definitive car comes out for Bahrain. (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81208 - February, 2nd)

The times so far from Nico today look good. 99% in the 1.24 or 1.25

this is risky........

Times are all right but we don't know the fuel loads yet. (long post follows)

Lapchart: N. Rosberg
Lap Time Difference
1 ----
2
3 1:26.827 -33.173
4 1:25.132 -1.695
5 1:25.667 +0.535
6 1:24.311 -1.356
7 ----
8 1:24.311
9 1:25.581 +1.27
10 1:23.743 -1.838
11 1:24.002 +0.259
13 1:24.153 +0.151
14 1:24.350 +0.197
15 1:25.075 +0.725
16 1:26.077 +1.002
17 ----
18 1:26.077
19 1:23.709 -2.368
20 1:24.454 +0.745
21 1:27.850 +3.396
22 1:24.819 -3.031
23 1:24.178 -0.641
24 1:24.400 +0.222
25 1:25.672 +1.272
26 1:24.658 -1.014
27 1:24.715 +0.057
28 1:24.500 -0.215
30 1:25.136 +0.636
31 1:26.268 +1.132
32 1:25.981 -0.287
33 ----
34 1:25.981
35 1:24.921 -1.06
36 1:24.619 -0.302
37 1:24.518 -0.101
38 1:24.538 +0.02
39 1:24.901 +0.363
40 1:25.007 +0.106
41 1:24.877 -0.13
42 1:24.868 -0.009
43 1:24.675 -0.193
44 1:24.724 +0.049
45 1:25.335 +0.611
46 1:25.542 +0.207
47 1:26.075 +0.533
48 1:26.711 +0.636
49 ----
50 1:26.711
51 1:22.878 -3.833
52 1:22.670 -0.208
53 ----
54 1:22.670
55 1:23.141 +0.471
56 1:22.514 -0.627
57 1:23.180 +0.666
58 ----
59 1:23.180
60 ----
61 1:23.180
62 1:24.809 +1.629
63 1:24.815 +0.006
64 1:24.684 -0.131
65 1:25.748 +1.064
66 1:24.770 -0.978
67 1:24.887 +0.117
68 1:24.795 -0.092
69 1:25.931 +1.136
70 1:25.433 -0.498
71 1:26.387 +0.954
72 ----
73 1:26.387
74 1:23.599 -2.788
75 ----
76 1:23.599
77 1:25.019 +1.42
78 1:23.844 -1.175
79 1:23.994 +0.15
80 1:24.190 +0.196
81 1:25.979 +1.789
82 1:24.140 -1.839
83 1:24.295 +0.155
84 1:24.436 +0.141
85 1:24.481 +0.045
86 1:24.158 -0.323
87 1:24.031 -0.127

Winning is about taking risks

It might come back to bite you in the end but do you think Newey designed cars were devoid of risk ?

I still trust the team at this point especially considering they now have works backing. So im willing to wait till Bahrain to pass judgement.

Nico is on a very long run now, 20 laps so far and times in 1.24s

They are late, and a new diffuser may or may not deliver performance increase they hope for. I think there was a design change after first tests, and now MGP's fans have to hold collective breath for next three weeks. This is nuts. On a positive note, my second favorite seems to have a horse that can run. Now we have to wait.

Stopped, fuel?

I think he was on his outlap when he stopped. Although it;'s possible they had a pit-stop and sent him back out immediately.

OfficialMGP Brief interruption as we caused a red flag... Nico will be back out again shortly.

15:04 A string of long runs have ended in the last few minutes. Rosberg did 24 laps, averaging 1m24.6s, Button did 20 laps with an average of 1m28.0s, and Alonso ran for 14 laps averaging 1m26.1s

doesnt look bad...

OfficialMGP About to go back out and another red flag! Just 3mins of the day left.

definetly not, he was lapping in 1.27s before it

that long run of Nico was very good indeed, then he made a stop and went out then he was lapping in 1.27s and then he caused the red flag

So maybe the Merc is not a dog after all?

It's pace is okay on the longer runs,but a bit more is to be found on the shorter sprints. Although there's still the wing/floor/diffuser packages to go,so we'll see how things are come Bahrain. Brawn said the new diffuser was due only at Bahrain,so they've stuck to their word.

Barcelona is more a aero-dependent track,so I guess that should help shake the order up slightly.

And I have no doubt it's Merc's diffuser Ferrari were planning on protesting,now that official word on the package is out.

AMuS writes that it was a planned check and Nico was running out of fuel.
Mercedes is waiting desperately for new parts, they should arrive at the track tomorrow and saturday

Looks like Nico went on a glory run, but couldn't make it. Not yet anyway. RB is a beast!

How does Ferrari know what Merc's diffuser will look like?

Based on the proposals for designs submitted to the technical committee. If a design's radical they'd have to get approval and all teams would be aware of the clarifications sought/made. Ross Brawn did say some 'interesting ideas' had been put forth when asked if there was any possibility of a row this season as well.

Rosberg expects big step from Mercedes

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81698

Rosberg comments sounds good to me

The car is looking good over the runs, so I can only hope that the new parts are a step up from this. I have to say, Bahrain could see them nearer the front than most seem to think.

now that i have read Rosbergs comments, im even more confident that MGP is a front runner car.

here is something from Haug
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81695

Rosberg is not worried about Red Bull

thats is really great

I am thinking they are talking to much. To early. This words need to come after Barca. Go MGP.

I'm surprised that only one person has commented on Nick Fry's "resignation" from the Mercedes GP Board.

Interesting, but it's not just him:



http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/9574.html

Maybe they only the want the board to be populated by people from the groups that have a stake in the team?

Does Nick Fry have any stake in the team?

...rather more of controlling interest. Fry, being removed from the board, lost thustly voting rights over what direction team takes in the future.

would have been purely commercial decision. the new investors wanted voting rights on the board so someone had to leave. brawn is still there so I don't see as an issue at all.

simply standard commercial reality. the more desperate they needed the investment the greater the number of board seats fry and his mates had to conceed

Brawn and Fry= 24.9% (split of % between Nick and Ross not stated)
Merc= 45.1%
Abu Dhabi Aabar= 30%

Good old Brawn GP.. Championship winners of 09 don't look as mighty this year, no massive new rule changes to really take advantage of.

Something about this team doesn't feel very Mercedes to me, it literally feels like Brawn GP mark II, good luck to them and I know the car's look is not performance, but the look of the car isn't up to scratch for a major name such as Mercedes.

The basic first Brawn car scheme I actually liked, a shame in many ways.. Would have been nice to see it carry on as Brawn GP with the distinctive white/lime green colours, I was a fan of that.

Nico: "The package we have now is an interim package to put some milage on the car. The race package for Bahrain looks entirely different.
We´ll have a completely different car for Bahrain. It´s clear that all teams have improvement but hopefully ours is the biggest"

translation ( http://www.motorsport-magazin.com/formel1/...hen-gut-da.html )

Bild - Merc SLS AMG to be the new SC for 2010 (the one MS drove in the "tunnel commercial")

I think it was mentioned before, but without testing the new parts, how will they be sure that they're an improvement?

edit- that safety car is awesome!

So am I!!

All we need do is see how the finals tests goes and keep our fingers crossed. I not wishing for an all-conquering car. All I wish is a piece of wheels that MS & NR can get stuck with the opposition.

Because computers and their windtunnel says it will be.

If your car is doing exactly what the simulations say it will do, then you gain trust in those simulations. So you can *trust* that when a simulation says it'll make the car faster, that it'll do exactly that.

If it didn't work this way, designing and developing an F1 car would largely be a guessing game.

There is a reason for having wind tunnels and CFD in that big factory of theirs.......

Apparently Mercedes have a new sponsor - a German "multinational company" that has "never been involved in Formula 1 before" - that they will reveal ahead of Bahrain.

There's also a reason for real-life testing, and McLaren using flo-vis etc. However, I guess they must be confident or they would have brought the parts to Barcelona.

Is brawn planning a "shock and awe? " Will be nice if it becomes true.

Most businesses and F1 included have not adopted ITIL processes (development, acceptance and production stages) and this includes acceptance testing and sign-off so these parts have to be tested regardless of what the simulations and CFDs predict.
I am sure we have read this year teams talking about signing things off. That is going through acceptance tests from which point it goes into production (race car) in this case.

CFD or windtunnel simulations doesn't neccessarily guarantee the durability and reliability of components and that is one of the reasons we see those cars doing so many Kilometers performing on track testing.

So looks like the radical diffuser believers (me included) were right.

Today's long stints from Nico were good!

Can't wait for the new aero parts tomorrow!

Can't wait for the DDDD (Doube Deck Diffuser of Death) which will be unveiled at Bahrain!

Hm... Bosch, BASF, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa, E.ON, RWE?

I do wonder if we ever find out if the so much talk about new parts for Bahrain are part of some devilish scheme by Ross to prevent law suits prior first race by revealing secrets as late as possible, or, MGP team is simply late with corrections performed on the car design, and now they are at risk that secret may or may not work allright on the track in first race.