Schumacher 2010 insight and 2011 W02 testing

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http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/vorschau-f1-test-jerez-2011-3400294.html

A year ago, Michael Schumacher did it exactly: "After the test in Jerez was clear: this will be a tough year." He was right. Now the formula takes an entourage again in Andalucia. The 4.428 km long course will provide the experts a first direction. The parties anyway. The time of functional testing is over. Now it is time for all to find a direction.


Hardness testing of tires
The point is not only be one who is fast on one lap. Mercedes-race director Norbert Haug says, which says a lot more value if you want to judge the qualities of the new cars. "The important thing is the average lap time for endurance runs 15 to 20 rounds. The telling reduce how much the tires on which car."

The tire wear in the 2011 season, the main criterion. Valencia has shown that the Pirelli-blocks quickly go to its knees. The lap times increase by up to four seconds, and recovering of the tires again. Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery told auto motor und sport ". It depends on who the best tire management austüftelt smarter setup or adjust his driving style better will be rewarded." Jerez is a much tougher test for the tires than Valencia. Because the curves faster, more aggressive of the asphalt and the temperatures are probably higher.


And the interesting news:


Ross Brawn left his troops in Valencia perform basic work. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher used only four sets of tires. Others have used twice the amount. The tanks were always full. Although Mercedes was the only time sheets in the lower middle, are Ross Brawn and Norbert Haug satisfied. In the endurance tests, the silver arrows were in the front field.



What's really interesting is that most every other team used around 8 sets of tires and aero which is close to their final running specs. W02 is currently running nowhere near the aero the other teams are running yet in the endurance tests they are front field. For instance, Schu and Kubica ran what everyone believed to be full fuel loads for 20-25 laps and Schu was ahead of Kubica 8 seconds by the 20th lap. I don't want to jinx anything but they appear to be running under the radaar at the moment.

 

Interesting info. Hard to tell anything considering how many sets of tires some used and how few others used.

http://f1tests.mine.nu/2011_1eng.php

 

And we wait for MB's full aero pack......... look at those tiny tiny 1/4 height barge boards, anemic rear wing, and the mostly 2 year old front wing design.........they are hiding something. Everyone else has either some iteration of late last year designs or what is pretty much a race-ready package. Renault, Red Bull, Ferrari won't have much in the way of changes come Bahrain. Just watch

 

You'd be surprised how many of the teams have what I have no doubt believe to be very near race ready aero. For instance, all the teams running triplane front wings (RB, Ferrari, Mcl, Renault). That triplane setup is pretty much *it* unless they are hiding something in the back, and even if they are it's going to be nothing more than another type of triplane.

 

From autosport forum:

-upgrade package is expected to include modificated front wing, brake ducts, turning vanes, sidepods and new exhaust solution, which is different from what we have seen on other cars
-car used in Valencia and Jerez had problems with cooling in few areas
-degradation of tyres on Mercedes is high, but they will work on it during next tests
-at Jerez rears were degrading very fast, while fronts were graining
-Mercedes won't throw more money into team

source: autosport print edition

 

Well, this strikes me as more of a 'major' update to what MB and everyone else is essentially calling a plain car. The sidepods strike me as particularly interesting. Have a look at where the crash structure is located in the sidepods. MB has something up their sleeves.
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it certainly strikes me as an odd statement, specifically because all teams are stating the tires degrade quickly. is this simply a statement verifying what everyone else is saying? or are they saying it's particularly worse on W02? To date, every driver is stating the rears fall off quick and the fronts are quick to grain.

 

Red Bull, Ferrari, Mclaren spent all the remainder of the last season trying to win. They will not have nearly as much to bring to the table come Bahrain as you think, and the Mclaren is having balance issues. Renault's/William's cars are impressive and appear very much race ready or near it to me. With how 'plain' W02 looks in comparison, I am hardy ready to write it off with their promise of practically a completely different car coming in for racing.

 

I am well aware of the W02 heat issues and various teething issues other teams are having. The fact remains there is no other team out there stating they are running an 'interim' and plain car as W02 has been advertised. If MB does not deliver on its promise as Autosport print edition is stating they will, I will completely loose all faith in that team and undoubtedly write-off whatever they are touting.

You think Ferrari, Mclaren, Red Bull, Renault are going to have anything further to update on the triplane front wing design? Maybe a little, but I promise we won't see much from them. I suspect a slightly different front wing, rear wing, and diffuser from those whom I just mentioned. Ferrari might have an exhaust gadget but I doubt it

 

I have seen that picon F1 technical, and I pointed out that W02 is taken from a different vantage point than that of the other cars. Have a look at the track positioning compared to the others. Specifically, look at the position of the corner marker (yellow and orange) and you can clearly see the angle in which W02 was photographed was more acute than that of the others if only by a little.

 

Well, my point is; yes, they all will have updates but they will not be anything 100% completely different than what they currently have. I'm expecting more subtle wing and exhaust changes from the others, while W02 will see sidepods, exhaust, front/rear wings, double floor etc, which is no doubt more than the others are doing.

 

W02 is also the shortest (by far) and the widest (also, by far).