2013 Mercedes AMG F1 W04

Dmitry Zaharov · Feb 4, 2013

Here goes loooong season for Hamilton and his fans...

Tony Holder · Feb 4, 2013

Blackberry....Blackberry...oh deary me.....*shakes head*

Jordi Casademunt · Feb 4, 2013

Is it me or the nose is really short?

Maybe it's just the front wing mount that makes it seem that way.

Johnny Russian · Feb 4, 2013

Hampus Andersson said:
It´s Rosberg in the car. To distinguish them look at their gloves. HAM i think won´t run yellow gloves.

oh haha i'm having trouble already!

Daniel Ciglar · Feb 4, 2013

I don't have a good feeling about that car.

Lee Ross · Feb 4, 2013

Johnny Russian said:
i've heard that Hamilton is around 1 second per lap faster than Nico in the simulator, in the Merc from last year.

source: some random dude on the internet, so take it with a pinch of salt. it wouldn't surprise me if it was true though

He says it himself below in the video right at the end. Nico had the whole day in the sim, Lewis jumped in for 10 mins and beat him.

Scott Webber · Feb 4, 2013

See the Mercedes AMG Blog here

Markus Neumann · Feb 4, 2013

Minus the modesty panel, this kind of seem like what the car should have looked like one year ago: no double DRS, but a smaller gearbox and McLaren exhausts instead. But okay, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. It might actually be a good thing they aren't trying any cute innovations which will turn out to be a mistake three months into the season.

Ketnix · Feb 4, 2013

Lewis in the car.

Johnny Russian · Feb 4, 2013

cool thanks for that Lee Ross

Diego Lopez · Feb 4, 2013

Daniel Ciglar said:
I don't have a good feeling about that car.

helped desgined by Aldo Costa...

of course there is no hope, look how ugly that rear of the car and lack of front development there is...typical Aldo Costa.

Ejike Wodu · Feb 4, 2013

Gary Anderson thinks the car will be a dog...

Analysis

Gary Anderson
BBC F1 technical analyst
"At first glance I can't see where the 'step change in performance' Mercedes are talking about is going to come from with their new car.

"There are a few changes here and there, but not necessarily in ways that look like they will be a big advantage.

"One area that is definitely working a bit harder is the front brake ducts, which are more elaborate.

"The nose has the allowed 'vanity panel' to hide the height difference between nose tip and chassis. If you put little ridges on either side of the nose, that can help prevent air spilling over the side. But the way Mercedes have designed their nose it looks like it will exacerbate that problem, which affects the aerodynamics detrimentally.

"The sidepods have a raised outer edge. It's aimed at getting air to the rear but it creates lift, and then there are turning vanes on top to reduce the lift. So that confuses me a little.

"They are trying to use the exhaust for aerodynamic effect at the back, but there is an awful lot of bodywork back there which will block the airflow and reduce the effectiveness of the 'coke-bottle' shape, which is what gives overall downforce, as opposed to the on-throttle downforce you get from the exhausts.

"Unlike the McLaren, which looked a step forward in every area, I wouldn't necessarily say I'm seeing anything too exciting about the Mercedes."

ufunacaoenn · Feb 5, 2013

To me the car doesn't seem to be complete at all and I wouldn't be surprised if they made some huge changes at the end of the testing season or at Melbourne.

Ketnix · Feb 5, 2013

Garry Anderson says one thing, James Allen and Mark Gillan another. Allen was alot more positive atleast.

Johnny Russian · Feb 5, 2013

Ejike Wodu said:
"The sidepods have a raised outer edge. It's aimed at getting air to the rear but it creates lift, and then there are turning vanes on top to reduce the lift. So that confuses me a little."

i don't understand how this can confuse Anderson. they have designed the sidepods in such a way that they get more air to the rear. the by-product of this is that it creates lift, which is undesirable. so they do something to reduce the lift, i.e., add turning vanes. this means they get all the advantage of air getting to the rear, without the disadvantage of the lift it creates. it makes perfect sense to me.

Ejike Wodu · Feb 5, 2013

Ketnix said:
Garry Anderson says one thing, James Allen and Mark Gillan another. Allen was alot more positive atleast.

I actually hope Gary is wrong. Last year if I remember correctly his analysis was pretty accurate at the start of the season.

Johnny Russian · Feb 5, 2013

Ketnix said:
Garry Anderson says one thing, James Allen and Mark Gillan another. Allen was alot more positive atleast.

i also read James Allen's analysis, it was a lot better than Anderson's. One of the comments in Allen's analysis even says: "James, thanks for an excellent detailed analysis! Much better than Gary Andersen at BBC who seems to have done a quick and dirty."

for anyone who is interested, here is the James Allen technical analysis.

Dmitry Zaharov · Feb 5, 2013

James Allen is a technical expert? I had not seen any F1 cars produced by him, maybe I missed something.

Ejike Wodu · Feb 5, 2013

Johnny Russian said:
i don't understand how this can confuse Anderson. they have designed the sidepods in such a way that they get more air to the rear. the by-product of this is that it creates lift, which is undesirable. so they do something to reduce the lift, i.e., add turning vanes. this means they get all the advantage of air getting to the rear, without the disadvantage of the lift it creates. it makes perfect sense to me.

I'm no expert but I get the feeling that they perhaps didn't know how to get air to the rear without creating lift. They've developed solutions to one problem that created another problem for which they need another solution. I hope this is not a pattern in the W04 design.