http://www.speedweek.ch/Formel1/news/23194/Mercedes-kommt-spaet.html This is particularly interesting as it was only a week ago that Brawn publicly admitted that they started testing at the beginning of this season too late.
MB. put on a huge upgrade package in Melbourne. In the autosport article Ross said before they put it on they weren't even sure whether it would help or not. So looking from the outside it seems that maybe they want want to understand the car properly to begin with so that whatever they changes (incremental this time) made are effective and they don't chase their tail like last year. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96590 I don't think McLaren's problem had much to do with the late release. They just went down the wrong path with the exhaust and stuck to it through testing. When I think about that time last year it still amazes me how well they dug themselves out of that situation and so quickly before the start of the season. They were at the first test but used the 2010 car as an interim with 2011 bits.
Ah yes they used a previous car(Mclaren). Im not sure what to read into the MB talk. Maybe they have made a fundamental error and it will take time to clear up its impacts.
MB announced the other day they are testing W02 at the first preseason test. This is being done to get a baseline on the new tires with a chassis and suspension geometry they already know something about. This in turn makes it easier to set up the new car so they're not stuck playing with suspension settings with the new car as much. Red Bull did the same thing with testing RB5 at the first test and THEN RB6 and as I recall RB6 did fairly well that year. Word is this was done mainly at Costa's request as they are doing something very special with the radiators and one of the ends, front or rear although it's not clear which. I suspect it's the front with that wing tech they are messing with. It's said that Costa is already having an effect on things and there is quite a synergy with the team.
By who? According to many here, Costa is about as much use as a chocolate teapot........ As for getting a baseline, I can go with that, but I'd much rather they had both the old & new cars available from day one - Compare the two from the beginning. [No idea if that's allowed of course?] Seems like something is awry to me, particularly after Ross said this is pretty much what put them on the back foot this season [per Autosport]. Further, I'd be much more likely to believe it if it were reported by another source..... IMO it's way too early to be saying the new car won't be ready. Cheers, Ian
'It's said' by sources working in Brackley. And test driver Bird tweeted some stuff. Red Bull did the same thing with RB6. Nothing odd or off about this method of testing. MB have done some different things with their suspension for W03 and if they don't test the new tires a little bit with some chassis they are familiar with then they would go into testing W03 blindly. The new car is very much ready, they just want to understand the new tires. And no, both cars cannot be present. Logistically speaking it would be a nitemare anyway. Remember Mclaren didn't even have their final setup of the car tested, pretty much ever. Who knows if they were sandbagging testing or if they really only could get it right with the exhaust and suspension arrangements in Australia. The car was an absolutely mess during testing though. According to the Italian team, Costa is evidently not all that useful despite all the championships under his belt. I can't really pay attention to what the Tifosi have to say about Costa as last time I checked, none of us have knowledge regarding the team's inner workings nor engineering paradigm. Regarding Ferrari, I do not agree with their way of running things as of late and next year will tell a lot about what direction Ferrari are headed in. My opinion on Costa is that Brawn -who knows him probably better than anyone- tapped him the minute he heard Ferrari was chopping heads as he knew he would be key in their future. Ferrari made a big mistake in kicking Rory Byrne's protege IMO. What many don't know is that Costa was the main designer of many of Ferrari's championship cars with Byrne pretty much advising him and not the other way around, although Byrne was given the credit due to the title he had. They are one in the same IMO. So in losing Costa, Ferrari either cut what wasn't working for them, or they just chopped one of their heads off and it will take time and a new dimension of thinking for them to recover. I believe the latter is true as I have seen Costa's work and chassis design ideas and they are on a whole other level than many out there. F150 was a compromise in design because I believe Ferrari instructed the team to be conservative regarding their design so they could pick up where they left off the previous season, which of course didn't happen. I believe that is exactly what the beef was between Costa and Ferrari. He told Ferrari he designed a car as they told him to and not per his recommendations. Ferrari probably ran with that and asked why their requested conservative car design isn't winning, to which Costa replied, "of course it's not because you tied my hands" and then it turned into a he said she said situation. An example: they used pushrod suspenion, albeit a clever one, but it just wasn't good and they had constant issues with tire geometry. Just my opinion regarding their inner politics. That's a whole other thread though.
Apparently that check wasn't very thorough. Regarding the 2012 Ferrari: Some birdie is pretty excited about it. Doesn't mean it will win as birds sometimes are wrong too, but it is promising.
Hopefully Ferrari's new car at least looks fast. The 150 was one of the ugliest shaped cars, IMO. It looked so bulky and ungainly. I liked the F10 too... Oh well, as long as it's the fastest car I'll be happy no matter how it looks. (Or even second fastest, I think that's all Alonso needs)
I'm hijacking the thread here, but since it is "mine", I'm ok with it. I'd love to buy a 1/12 model of one of the current Ferrari F1 but they're all so insanely expensive. It seems to matter little that they're ugly and unsuccessful. The Euro is what kills us. The very same Euro that apparently is in such dismal shape that it also weighs heavily on our stock portfolio. Anyway, had to get this off my chest.
I hope they're making the right decision. Thing is, the current rules leave teams with a pretty tight decision to make.
They said the same thing last year. Heck, MB said the same thing too but at least the Ferrari brought some success right. The '12 car could be fantastic for Ferrari or a continuation of the F150 which I believe will shape the future for Ferrari until they change they way they do things.
