F1 2013 thread

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Willie Trombone

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Brawn on Merc's second half slump:

Ross Brawn believes that mid-season changes in Mercedes' Formula 1 aerodynamic department were the root cause of the team's slump in form during the second half of 2012.

Mercedes, which took over the world champion Brawn squad in late 2009, scored its first F1 race win as a constructor since 1955 when Nico Rosberg dominated the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position.

By the halfway point of 2012, Rosberg lay sixth in the championshp, only 34 points behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

But the squad's form suffered during the second half of the year, Rosberg eventually trailing world champion Vettel by 189 points and Michael Schumacher's sixth place in Brazil its only points finish from the final six grands prix.

Team principal Brawn said that the departure of head of aerodynamics Loic Bigois, coupled with a change in windtunnel philosophy while the team experimented with Coanda exhausts and double DRS, also played a major influence.

Brawn said: "We made a decision to change the structure of the aero group. We had to wait for [new aero chief] Mike Elliot to join us because we had a notice period he had to fulfil at Lotus.

"We concluded the situation with Loic and there was a gap that we didn't fill very well."

"On top of that we were doing the transition from 50 per cent to 60 per cent models in the windtunnel, and there were a lot of other things in the aero group as well. It did have an impact."

Brawn said that the shift to 60 per cent models was necessary to increase the amount of technical data it could extract from Pirelli's tyres.

"Our conclusion was that we would get a much more representative tyre at 60 per cent than at 50 per cent," he added.

"Pirelli have to make 50 per cent and 60 per cent windtunnel tyres. There are only two teams that are still doing 50 per cent.

"Even with Pirelli's best efforts, they're going to be getting better feedback about 60 per cent tyres than 50 per cent. So we wanted to make the move.

"The other thing that has happened over the years is that you're putting more and more equipment inside the windtunnel model to measure, monitor and check. We just ran out of space in the 50 per cent model.

"There were things that we wanted to do that we couldn't do, and we needed the 60 per cent model to accommodate those features. Sixty per cent is the legal limit you can go to, there is no further step we can make."
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killadoob

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Wow so half through a season you are doing well, then you decide hey let's change everything and ensure we cock up the next half.

Sounds like hamilton has picked a very intelligent team. When we doing well at the half way point we try new things and hope they work instead of just working with what we know is working.

Yikes, i wonder if hamilton knew such intelligence was running the team before he signed?
 
vinodh

vinodh

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Hopefully Hamilton will join the team that won the 2009 World Championship and not the team that made Michael Schumacher look like a pay driver.
 
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killadoob

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vinodh said:
Hopefully Hamilton will join the team that won the 2009 World Championship and not the team that made Michael Schumacher look like a pay driver.
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Yup even rosberg looked crap but we could see something changed and neither driver had the car to do anything in the last few gp's. Why change a working a system? I know there are upgrades needed but when you are doing well, change things slowly don't up and change everything.

Look at redbull they sucked first half of the season but they slowly got the car up to scratch, same with ferrari. Mclaren went backwards slowly but they were always there knocking on the door at least.
 
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Willie Trombone

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Obviously not all the story is there... You don't have key staff turnover mid season without a story.
 
vinodh

vinodh

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Maybe Mercedes is like the way Toyota went about F1: lots of cash, too many bosses shouting the odds and very little direction. Could be the reason why their head of aerodynamics buggered off. They should just let Ross Brawn run everything his way. Hamilton is going to have to drive the wheels of the 2013 Merc to get anywhere.
 
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Willie Trombone

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vinodh said:
Maybe Mercedes is like the way Toyota went about F1: lots of cash, too many bosses shouting the odds and very little direction. Could be the reason why their head of aerodynamics buggered off. They should just let Ross Brawn run everything his way. Hamilton is going to have to drive the wheels of the 2013 Merc to get anywhere.
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Could be... Perhaps Ross didn't realise what he was in for. I hope they're giving Ross leeway and he's not just resigned to working for his pension.
 
vinodh

vinodh

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Perez started at McLaren yesterday:

1DX4782.jpg


2013 is going to be a very important season for him. McLaren claim they'll give him equal status. Either way, I wish him luck.
 
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Willie Trombone

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Mercedes reveals 2014 F1 engine
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105080

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Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the first images of the 2014 Formula 1 power unit that it believes will put the 'motor back in motorsport'.

As dyno testing of its new V6 1.6-litre turbo charged unit continues at its Brixworth facility, Mercedes says early indications from its work are pointing towards an exciting era for grand prix racing once the 2014 rules come into force.

Andy Cowell, managing director of Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, dismissed fears that the new power units would not deliver as exciting a sound as the current V8 engines, and predicted thrills for fans and challenges for drivers.

"The engines are going to be loud, but I think sweet sounding," he said on Friday. "The frequency will be higher and, with the turbocharger running at 125,000rpm, they will be loud. When you are stood next to it on the dyno it is not quiet and you need ear defenders.

"There will be a new quality to the racing too. It will edge towards a thinking drivers' formula to get the most from the car and the available fuel energy.

"The engines will also deliver much more torque - especially on the exit of the corners. Cars with more power than grip coming out of the corners - that is something that we all enjoy.

"They will also put F1 back at the cutting edge of new technology - which is what the fans want."

Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey suggested last year that the power units would become the critical factor in deciding the outcome of the 2014 championship.

Cowell believed it was too early to be specific about the impact the engines will have, but was confident that the importance of the engine manufacturer would be greater than it was now, a move he welcomed.

"We are putting the motor back in motorsport, but to what extent we will only know in 2014," he said. "It will definitely have more of an influence."

The new power units will produce the same 750hp figure of the current engines but a larger percentage of that will come from Energy Recovery Systems.

The current KERS currently produces 80hp for 6.7 seconds per lap, while the new ERS will deliver 161 hp for 33.3 seconds per lap.

Cowell said: "Today it is difficult to be quick without KERS - for 2014 it will be impossible to go racing without ERS."
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vinodh

vinodh

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I read up a bit on ERS. It consists of two parts: Motor Generator Unit (Kinetic) and a Motor Generator Unit (Heat). The really interest part is this extract from RaceCar Engineering Magazine:

‘But we can also use the energy stored in the battery to accelerate the turbo, increasing the boost pressure via the MGU-H and making up the shortfall that way,’

That means that the energy recovered can be used in different ways. One way is what they do now, send the recovered kinetic energy from the batteries to the gearbox for a short power burst and this new method of spinning up the turbo faster to make the engine build more power quicker. Sounds like its going to be very, very interesting in 2014.
 
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Rosaudio

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Not long now until the cars are revealed! :D

Thought I might as well mention that i'll being going to Le Mans this June. So if people are interested i'll put some pics up.
 
satanboy

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Rosaudio said:
Not long now until the cars are revealed! :D

Thought I might as well mention that i'll being going to Le Mans this June. So if people are interested i'll put some pics up.
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super jealous...

two things on my bucket list
1) Le Mans 24 Hour
2) F1 race (anywhere)
 
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