Mercedes - Can they hack it at the front?

[MCLS]

As we all know, 2010 has been a very poor season for Mercedes (and particularly Schumacher) with blame being placed at the feet of development of the championship winning 2009 BGP-001 (sounds identical to Mclaren last year). But having stopped development of this seasons car very early due to the sudden realization how poor the car was in comparison to the Red Bulls, Ferraris and McLarens, (and in some cases the Renaults) they have heavily focused on developing next years car to be a frontrunner, do we think that is is a strong possibility and if so, will both Rosberg and Schumacher be up there fighting for wins next season, or just Rosberg? Personally while i think that the car will be a distinct improvement on this years car, i don't think that there will be a serious Mercedes challenge for the title, and it could very well be Schumachers last year in F1 if he doesn't start hitting podiums next year.

 

[siffert_fan]

I wouldn't be too quick to write off Mercedes or Schumacher. I think that the big determining factor next year will be which team hits the best set-up with the new tyres. In that respect, they are all starting from ground zero, so it is quite possible that one of today's top 3 teams will miss the mark and find themselves further down the grid than many people think possible.

 

[LifeW12]

They've been quick in some races its their quali that's really hurting them

 

[F1Yorkshire]

I wouldn't be too quick to write off Mercedes or Schumacher. I think that the big determining factor next year will be which team hits the best set-up with the new tyres. In that respect, they are all starting from ground zero, so it is quite possible that one of today's top 3 teams will miss the mark and find themselves further down the grid than many people think possible.

Red Bull have been throwing all their resources at this years car to maintain the 0.5-1.0 second gap they have had this season, have Newey and his design team been given the time and money they need to work on next years model? I know RB have the financial backing but there's only one Adrian Newey and I'm not sure he can work on two world championship cars at the same time.

At this point in the season Ferrari have usually given up so they can work on the next seasons car but this year they are still in the hunt for the drivers title so I'm not sure how their performance will be next season. They usually have the funding to throw at a design but they have been lacking in the technical department recently.

McLaren usually have a large budget but they too have been chasing this years title and their big innovation this season has been banned for next season but they do have more experience producing a KERS unit.

I would say all 3 top teams are in the same boat, most of their time and money has been spent on this years car so it could make the start of next season very interesting.

Mercedes has Ross Brawn and we know what he can do with a car when given the time and the money so I'm expecting a significant improvment from them in 2011

 

[Galahad]

Mark Hughes' column in Autosport this week carries an interview with Ross that makes for interesting reading. This year's car was clearly very compromised, and although the team is financially a long way short of the current top three I wouldn't be surprised to see them challenging for victories next year.

The effects of the Resource Restriction Agreement will increasingly be felt over the coming seasons; Mercedes have already downsized themselves and gone through the pain of that process.