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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:22:06:50:47 by Timba7.

FRIC suspension system in full use, new FW, Coanda exhaust and new turning vanes + pillars beneath the chassis. 2 Great drivers. I couldnt be happier. I am hoping another podium finish and another good point finish.

Maybe some new upgrades are also coming to China!!

Lets raise the Silver Arrow to the top spot!!!! Bring it on!!

Well Ladies and Gentlemen it's that time again to post your opinions on the upcoming GP. Nico broke into the win column for his virgin victory last season. Can the racing forces grace him for an encore performance ? That would somewhat defy the odds but crazier things have been dealt to F1 on many occasions.

As Timba mentions adjustments are being made, up-grades are likely, and the strategies are taking form. Other unknowns will unfold such as weather and what not.

Best of Luck to Mercedes and we are looking forward to all your opinions.

sessions

will the ‘illegal’ splitters found on mercedes,RB,lotus have any lasting detrimental effect on performance?

the odds would say no but every little bit helps these days.

[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions

De_Jokke,
Thanks for the above video. After viewing Lewis in his driving position you can see the amount of upper body strength it must require to muscle your way around how many high G-force turns in any given F1 Grand Prix.
This brings to mind the difficulties Danica Patrick has manhandling both open-wheel and NASCAR type race cars. I believe she may weigh under 100 lbs. No wonder she has a hard time. Bernie keeps wanting her in F1 because of her marketability, but if she is relegated to a back marker simply because she's unable to wrestle the car into submission,she's a lost cause.
Has anyone picked up on anything new concerning the Chinese GP?

sessions

I heard a rumour about merc bringing a quater of a second update: so 0.250. Dunno if it's true...

I hope the coming days, we'll get a better view of which updates merc has brought to this gp. I expect something along the lines of a better coanda exhaust or a new front/rear wing.

ps: the T-tray modification that merc, lotus and RBR had to made, seemed to be a hoax (luckily for merc), the FIA confirmed that it wasn't true.


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:05:01:58:51 by De_JOKKE.

Hope you are correct in the T-tray area. We (Mercedes) don't need any set-backs. If up-grades can give us a little more pace we should be in decent shape for China.

Come on Nico another top step would look good on you. That's not saying Lewis wouldn't look good wearing the top step either.

sessions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:05:02:36:39 by sessions.

Here you go Sessions:

[www.gptoday.com]

[www.gptoday.com]

Concerning the updates: a little update boost would bring us right into pole contention, I think.


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:05:02:54:20 by De_JOKKE.

news:

[www.autosport.com]
=> playing it down or knowing it already??

[www.bbc.co.uk]

[en.espnf1.com]

Nico Rosberg: I travel to China next week with very good memories from winning my first Formula One race in Shanghai last year, and having led the race there for the past three years. I enjoy the Shanghai track a great deal and I have a positive feeling going there with the car that we have at the moment. The team have been working very hard to develop our car since returning from Malaysia and I will be at the factory on Monday to complete my preparations in the simulator for the next two races. We've had a strong start to the season and I'm confident that we can keep pushing and hopefully score some good results in China and Bahrain.

Lewis Hamilton: I'm looking forward to getting to China next week and going racing again; it feels like a long time since Malaysia! My first two races with my new team have been a great experience and everyone has made me feel so welcome. We've had a better start than we expected and to have finished in fifth and third places so far is really positive. I know there is much more to come so we will keep working hard and pushing the development of the car. I'll be at the factory this weekend and look forward to hearing about the work that's gone on in the last couple of weeks and the upgrades that we will take to China.

Ross Brawn: The Chinese Grand Prix of course holds great memories following the first win for Nico and our Silver Arrows team in Shanghai last year. That win was an extremely proud occasion for us all and certainly one that we hope to emulate in the future. Our season has started well, perhaps better than we expected, however we're fully aware that there is still a gap to close and that we must keep up the pace of development. A lot of hard work has taken place at our factories over the last two weeks to do just that and I look forward to seeing how that translates to track performance. The Chinese Grand Prix race is well established now in its tenth year and it's an important market for both Formula One and Mercedes-Benz. The circuit itself is challenging with fast curves, tight corners and two hairpins. The layout requires good straightline speed, braking stability and traction, and the temperatures are likely to be cooler than we have experienced in the first two race weekends.

Toto Wolff: One year on from Nico's win, a lot of people will be asking whether this is something our team can repeat in 2013. But like they say, yesterday's home runs don't win today's games, and that's definitely true for us. We start again from zero this year and need to work hard to adapt the car to suit the circuit and the tyre compounds we have available, in the conditions that we find on track next weekend. Then we will see where we stand relative to the competition. We have made a solid start to the season in the first two races with Nico and Lewis both performing at a very high and equal level. The development race will be critical this season so we have more new parts planned for China. Our aim has to be to improve on our good start to the season and continue scoring good points in both championships.


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:05:12:33:05 by De_JOKKE.

Ok I did some research and we've got updates:

According to Auto-Motor-Sport Mercedes will bring so new "aerodynamic components to add more downforce".


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions

Lewis via Twitter:
Good morning!!! Up & ready for the simulator today ahead of china! Wishing you a great day. Blessings

Lewis Hamilton;@LewisHamilton

Just finished testing in China, am now going on to Bahrain. The SIM is pretty special, hard to make it realistic but work in progress


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:07:19:22:41 by De_JOKKE.

GP China


Positives

+ we’ve got updates coming
+ both our drivers love the circuit
+ our race pace in Malaysia was good (although a bit masked by the fuel miscalculation)


Negatives

- Fuel miscalculation: I hope they have sorted this out for future races
- We still lack some pace to the bulls and probably Ferrari/Lotus but we’re almost on a par


Unknows

? Who’s gonna be better this weekend? Lewis or Rosberg. Lewis had Rosberg under control in Melbourne, in Malaysia it was the other way round. Who will it be in China, considering both men love the circuit…
? How is the WO4 going to perform in China, which will be colder than Malaysia…
? Mark’s issue with Vettel might give Lewis a shot at the title, but that also goes for Nando and Kimi…
? Adaptation of the RBR, Lotus and MERC concerning the T-tray – vs Ferrari: loss of performance? How big? => update: apparently the FIA stated that it hadn’t asked those 3 teams to modify anything


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:08:14:15:58 by De_JOKKE.

Brawn_tips_Merc_to_star_again:
[www.gptoday.com]


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions

Glock's china prediction:

[www.motorsport-total.com]


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions

Front: New FW
Back: Old FW

The endplate of the cascade has a weird curving (new FW). Vortice creation?












The Merc updates should be worth 0.2-0.3 secs. According to Amus Mercedes will bring an updated FW (we noticed that), a low downforce RW, improved brakeducts and some updates to improve cooling.

What a @#$%&!:

[en.espnf1.com]

[www.bbc.co.uk]



Hamilton sick...

[www.pitpass.com]


schumacher contract
[www.pitpass.com]

RBR team row
[www1.skysports.com]
=> things could get ugly but that'll mean advantage merc, fer, lotus, mcl

WOW... a lot going on.

Herman likes the Schumi news no doubt Kjäh kjäh..

About the race negatives. This fuel issue is familiar from last seasons. So i have a doubt they fand some miracle cure for it.

Dont know how Vettel getting more points can be good for others in the WDC fight. Well i might be wrong, and Webbo doing something that takes away Vettels points. But what could it be?

Hopefully updates brings us closer to RB.

Too bad Hammi is sick. Hope he is ok for tomorrow.

Bring it on!!! FP is pretty close. Let us enjoy the show!!!

Good luck to Merc team!!!

The more the distractions at RB the better for Mercedes.
Hope what's plaguing Lewis will be under control so he can get the car through its check list. A strong qualification can't do anything but help us on Sunday.

Has anyone heard what we can expect weather wise ?

The photo's DJ posted of the new wing are really racy. Hope a pace increase is achieved.

Well we don't have long to wait. These three weeks between races seems an eternity.

sessions

The more the distractions at RB the better for Mercedes.

The more i read about the distractions at RB the more i think what a horrible little git SEB is.

Dont get me wrong, i lean to the side of win at all costs, but to a point, he is rubbing our noses in it now.

video: [url][/url]

I just saw new interviews @TV from both Webbo and Vettel...heh. You guys are right. RB will be war zone for the rest of the season.

Last year for this duo.

Indeed, I saw the press conference this morning and webber was still sour over the incident apparently. He said everything was behind him but actions speak louder than words.

Also the way vettel is making a u-turn by apologising to I would do it again, suggests that a war is brewing at RBR.
Can only be good for us, unless the same starts at merc... (let's hope not, I don't think that will happen. There both mates and Lewis hates being pushed forward, he wants to beat nico fair and square).

btw, love this pic:

I don't think Lewis and Nico would resort to all out battle, but we did see a side of Lewis that was exposed when he was teamed with Alonso.
If Nico started getting the edge would it trigger negative behaviour ? I hope not, but we'll only see if Nico really starts to excel and demonstrates a upper hand in the team mate war.

sessions

FP1

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.717s 21
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m37.171s + 0.454s 20
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.658s + 0.941s 21
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.942s + 1.225s 20
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.965s + 1.248s 17
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.069s + 1.352s 24
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.095s + 1.378s 14
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m38.125s + 1.408s 21
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.398s + 1.681s 17
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.561s + 1.844s 15
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m38.790s + 2.073s 16
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.057s + 2.340s 19
13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.158s + 2.441s 22
14. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.180s + 2.463s 21
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.336s + 2.619s 19
16. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.360s + 2.643s 20
17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.392s + 2.675s 20

Second practice;
Only Kimi + 2 fefe´s in front of Nico,
look´s good.

Kimi will win, Nico will be second.

[www.autosport.com]


[uk.eurosport.yahoo.com]

[www.gptoday.com]
=> I like Wolff's statement about the updates and more performance to find.
=> Lewis still uncomfortable


[www.gptoday.com]
=> this one is for K1, lol


[www.gptoday.com]

[www.gptoday.com]
shittyres!


Grosjean again with a mysterious loss of downforce again, could mean bigger points for merc unless merc is already faster anyway.

[www.gptoday.com]

[www.gptoday.com]

[www.gptoday.com]

[www.formula1.com]
rosberg Q&A

[www.motorsport-total.com]
(german article: wolff about brawn and lowe)

hamilton about teamorders (german article):
[www.motorsport-total.com]

Friday's press conf:
[www.planet-f1.com]

Sky commentators said the team has brought a new front wing, rear wing, and floor with them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:12:14:35:37 by De_JOKKE.

hami:

We've made a good start today but there is a lot of work to do overnight. I'm hoping that we can continue to improve as I spend more time in the car. We'll find out in qualifying where we really are.


lewis bbc column:

[www.bbc.co.uk]


----------------------
So it seems as if merc has a real shot at victory here, FP1 merc was dominating, FP2 was not bad either. I hope Lewis find more comfort in his car soon, he's clearly still struggling.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:12:14:54:31 by De_JOKKE.

Things don't sound right with the soft's. Hope it all gets resolved before we qualify.
The Ferrari's look awfully strong along with Kimi, we have our work cut out for us.

sessions

once again it will be down to the tyres. it shouldn’t be but it will. in last years parlance the sott this year is last years ‘supersoft’ and their years medium is last years ‘soft’.

this artificial degradation is ruining the racing. as hamilton was reported to have said, ‘on the first laps chunks were just flying off the tyres’. never mind, this is the ‘pinnacle’ of motorsport!!!!!!

As mentioned I hope they get the tire thing sussed by qualifying. If not I think we will be second fiddle to Ferrari, Red Bull and Kimi.
It's already 6 AM + at the track.
If indeed Nico is easier on tires than Lewis, the kid may get lucky with results. Anyway, it looks like getting a good grid spot is vital. GOOD LUCK MERCEDES !

sessions

To me it looks like RBR and Nando are in the same boat concerning the deg. on the soft tyre. (check the vid on sky:
[www1.skysports.com]-–-china-p1-&-p2)

Dunno about Lotus.

Grid spot will be important but China is a track with lots of opportunities to overtake and the merc has found it topspeed back a bit at this track.

Poooooooooollllllllleeeeeeeeee, hopefully the first of many.

Nico 4th, not bad but I expected him 2nd or at least 3rd.

Strategy will be key tomorrow, hopefully merc made the right decision. If we can keep the close competitors at bay at the start and in the first stint, we'll have a good chance to end on the top step of the podium tomorrow.

Well done merc! And that after being 2secs down in '12!

Great performance. Lewis looks mighty here.

I'm not sure on the Button / Vet strategy of going with the hard tyre. It may seem to make sense and maybe it does that far down the grid. But they'll still have to use them later in the race. I can't really see anyone much holding up the front runners on this track, too easy to use KERS.

Hamilton agrees with me, lol:

"After that when we get on to the primes I think we are in a good position but it's just a matter of how much ground we can maintain or try not to lose in the first stint."

=> [www1.skysports.com]


+
Even Ross Brawn doesn't know how Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix might unfold:
[www1.skysports.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:13:17:33:23 by De_JOKKE.

The tires do put question marks in everyones strategy no doubt, but we do have the pace and the expertise of Nico and Lewis.
I expected Nico to have reached the podium in Q3, but as he said going wide at the end may have cost him. At least they (L&N) feel the car has the legs to allow for a challenge.
Self-Confidence is a big factor when the cars are close to equal speeds, and it shows through their verbal responses and their swagger in general.
The tire gamble by 2 of the top 10 may prove fruitful, but as already mentioned, they too will have too work them into their strategy just as we do in reverse.
Posters, I'm optimistic and feel we have what it takes to end up with strong results.

sessions



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:13:21:00:05 by sessions.

I can see Lewis having a strong run. Fear Alonso though.

I think Vettel should be one of the guys to watch out for if he's starting on the mediums. It might turn out to be the right tactic... Dunno how much merc is faster than rbr on the mediums, so it could be quite interesting to see how everything pans out. Good luck to merc. Start will be crucial, hopefully Lewis can stay ahead while managing tyres from the lead is just a bit better for those cheesewheels.

note: nico's problem in FP3 was a newer version of a hydraulic hose that failed in the rear suspension. Merc replaced it by the older version.

btw: Rosberg took a lot of notes in the qwf debrief according to sky, lol :p

some nice pics:

[www.f1fanatic.co.uk]

[www.f1fanatic.co.uk]

[www.f1fanatic.co.uk]

[i.imgur.com]

[i.imgur.com]

[i.imgur.com]

[i.imgur.com]

hami: "Pole position is a great result for us today and to achieve it in my third race for the team is such a good feeling. Everyone's been working really hard. It would be great to convert the position in the race tomorrow but it's going to be a challenge and we're realistic about how tough the race will be. I'm looking forward to it and will give it my all."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:14:01:16:00 by De_JOKKE.

Not sure what to make of that race, happy with another podium but clearly lacking race pace.

More bad luck for nico, even after 3 races and with team orders legal combined with 2 dnf's in 3 surely this confirms nico as lewis rear gunner.

Alonso looking like WDC this year.

Yep nailed on for nando i would say.

Ow boy, painful to watch Lewis fall back. Car still eating its tyres (not as bad as in 2012) but with a non-eating tyres car, ham would have walked it with the pace he had in QWF.

Rosberg, seems to me like the same issue that plagued him in FP3, FRIC issue related. It's a good tool to gain pace but if it fails, it's a DNF immediately. If they don't sort it out, it'll bite them in the ass for several times, I'm afraid.
It's a shame merc still has so much DNF's, two out of three races for rosberg, come on. We could have really hauled in RBR in the WCC this race... and now only 3 points gained. Shame shame shame!!!
Also Rosberg's race pace was shite! He said after QWF that he focussed on race pace, ow boy...

Hamilton did everything he could, perfect start, hold alonso off as long as he could and then the pace on the mediums just wasn't good enough to come back at alonso.
Another cock-up from merc for not pitting lewis earlier in the second stopwindow. That allowed kimi to pass him but it must be said: kimi's wing was damaged so he would have leapfrogged hamilton anyway with a non-damaged wing. So the result (podium) is the true pace result...

Let's hope Kimi and Vettel get a time penalty for the DRS use but I'm afraid the FIA won't penalise anyone...

Note: alonso used DRS on the backstraight after he passed Vettel and with no car in front of him, did anyone noticed?? That's not allowed, is it?

Dunno what to expect for Bahrain, does anyone know what tyres Pirelli are bringing? If the same as here in China, we're @#$%&, 'cause merc barely made the podium on a merc circuit so it'll be dificult then.

Positive of the day: Lewis only 12 points behind Vettel in WDC.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:14:10:33:45 by De_JOKKE.

Note: alonso used DRS on the backstraight after he passed Vettel and with no car in front of him, did anyone noticed?? That's not allowed, is it?

I think nando passed vettel 'after' the DRS detection line hence why he had drs and vettel none.

Nando did it a few times to other drivers too very clever.

Quote:

Hall_Green_Wolf
Note: alonso used DRS on the backstraight after he passed Vettel and with no car in front of him, did anyone noticed?? That's not allowed, is it?
I think nando passed vettel 'after' the DRS detection line hence why he had drs and vettel none.

Nando did it a few times to other drivers too very clever.

ok thanks for the clarification HGW

Just in: broken anti-roll bar @ NR car


[www.autosport.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:14:11:43:29 by De_JOKKE.

Great 3rd for Hammi!! Pole and all... looking good, and overall we cut the gap to lead with few points in WDC rank. So not bad.

Alonso looked too strong. Clearly they are using LC /TC... dont know how it goes unnoticed. They dominate every start + pit stop exit (massa vs. Sauber), they get to top speed without wheel spin. Over and over again.

Good show!!

merc quotes:

[www.gptoday.com]


merc FW analysis: [www.formula1.com]


"Leave it to Lewis Hamilton to ruin Red Bull's day" - Martin Brundle

In memoriam: Sessions

Great race by Hamilton (once more), congrats.

Merc should fix this troubles with tyre deg.

I´m sure, Lewis with Bridgestones would be unstoppable.

That's what is so frustrating for me. He looks to be the fastest driver in the sport at the moment. Whether or not the Merc is quickest or not, without these@#$%&Pirelli's he'd be much more likely to have been challenging for the win this year.

Pirelli are robbing Hamilton of his best years.

------------------------
Did anyone notice when Lewis was on the podium, just how excited the engineers, and other team staff were? It was a really special moment. You can tell these last two podiums and good runs means so much to them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:14:19:15:41 by De_JOKKE.

Considering where Merc was last year, they have made a massive leap. If the drivers can keep getting the podiums, we will be there at the end with a shout.

nice start of the race pic:

merc giving inspiration to mcl:
[www.gptoday.com]

as expected:
[www.gptoday.com]

Hamilton says he is in the title fight after strong start to 2013

[www.autosport.com]

Quote:

Timba7
Great 3rd for Hammi!! Pole and all... looking good, and overall we cut the gap to lead with few points in WDC rank. So not bad.
Alonso looked too strong. Clearly they are using LC /TC... dont know how it goes unnoticed. They dominate every start + pit stop exit (massa vs. Sauber), they get to top speed without wheel spin. Over and over again.

Good show!!

Timba, proudly I have to say that Lewis made the best start yesterday. I hope he can repeat that in future races.