2012 Mercedes W03

I starting to get nervous an i'm not even a driver :eek: i think something is wrong with me

Couldn't have said it better Hampus.Pre-season testing gets me so excited that by the end of it i'm buzzing and can hardly wait for Q to begin.And this year even more so because it seems the new regs have brought the field closer together,but let's hope
I am trully addicted to F1 like nothing else ----- +1

Am I the only one getting the impression that this car might actually be worse than the previous 2?

I know you cannot go on testing form at all, but the previous years at least they topped a few sessions. This year they're down a lot every time.

I hope I'm wrong, because their drivers deserve better.

Topping sessions (or testing, P1,P2,P3) says absolutely nothing.
Don't get caught up in the times, the only thing you should watch out for is Q3 and the race.
Everything else is guessing and pointless.

W03 has not been driven in Q3 yet so it would be foolish to make any assumptions just yet.

I think they are playing it pretty close to the vest. When Ross Brawn starts saying we might have something after being cautious at launch and the 2nd test... that means something.

Gee I hope you guys are right. They seem more confident this year in their speeches - and not giving that much away at all. Can't wait for it to start now...

Problem is they don't know anything other then their own car..
So even though car feels good it can still be behind the rest,

I guess the only thing you can check is laptimes in stints to see the drop off in time to see how the cars do but it's testing so people sandbag, test components etc.

Ross will know when we know.

F-duct deemed legal!


http://scarbsf1.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/mercedes-f-duct-front-wing-operated-by-the-rear-wing-drs/



It actually takes in air from the rear wing, sends it all the way to the front of the car and exits on the underside of the front wing! Insane.

Very impressive engineering. I'll be supporting them this season... have to see either Rosberg or Schumacher get in a win or two!

it will be interesting to see the real benefit of this device...is it for top speed only or would it allow drivers to take corners with the DRS open in Q

Does anyone know why it would make sense to send air from the back wing to the front wing via the F duct?

Is this only to counter it being banned from the front?

its to make the car more balanced while the DRS is being used ,primarily in corners..at least thats how i understand it

By basically reducing the downforce at the front as well, is that correct? Doesn't sound legal to me - or at the very best, it will be banned for 2013...

correct..the duct stalls the FW therefore eliminating the oversteer DRS creates on deployment

from Autosport

So it is fully legal now. I really think it will be banned after the season, if not during the season(FIA seems to like banning stuff mid-season).

I think it will allow the driver to enable DRS earlier out of the corner but corner speeds should be the same. Entry & Mid atleast.

Some really fast corners they might even be able to go through with DRS open which could aid a tenth or two maybe.
Should provide some better acceleration as well with two DRS basically.

i agree,that seems to be the general consensus at the moment

This looks cool, might put Mercedes in the fight for the front row in qualifying.