Current Mercedes

Mercedes GP

FIA Entry: Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
Car 7: Michael Schumacher
Car 8: Nico Rosberg
Engine: Mercedes V8
Team Principal: Ross Brawn
Technical Director: Bob Bell
Race Engineer Car 7: Mark Slade
Race Engineer Car 8: Tony Ross

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 2010
Races Entered 19
Race Wins 0
Pole Positions 0
Fastest Laps 0
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

Team History

The Mercedes team history splits into two parts. In 1954 the famous pre-war Silver Arrows entered the F1 world championship and recorded a 1-2 at their first race. Fangio went on to win the drivers championship that year and again in 1955. Mercedes withdrew at the end of the 1955 season after the accident which killed 80 spectators at Le Mans which involved one of their cars.

The current team entered F1 in 2010 after Mercedes bought Brawn Grand Prix. Brawn Grand Prix, winners of the Drivers Championship, with Jenson Button, and the constructor’s championship in 2009, grew out of the ashes of Honda’s F1 entry after Honda had withdrawn from F1 at the end of the 2008 season after only a single Grand Prix win for Button in Hungary 2006.

Prior to the Honda takeover in 2006 the team had raced under the name of British America racing which had acquired the assets and race entry of the Tyrrell F1 team in 1999. BAR competed in 118 races without a single victory. The high points for the team were 2 pole positions (both for Button – San Marino 2004 and Canada 2005) and 2nd in the constructors championship in 2004.

Tyrrell were amongst the most successful private F1 teams taking part in 463 Grands Prix, scoring 33 victories and 3 Drivers Championships, all with Jackie Stewart.

2010

Having replaced Button and Barrichello with Nico Rosberg and 7 times WDC Michael Schumacher many expected great things of the new Mercedes team in 2010 but they had an indifferent season.

Rosberg managed 3 podiums for the team but Schumacher, coming back from retirement, struggled with the new cars, tyres and limited testing under the revised regulations. The team finished 4th in the Constructors Championship.

2011

For 2011 Mercedes retain the same driver line up and are hoping for better things from their MGP W02 chassis.

 

[racecub]

So what Bill? Ignore your team, roll over and let Alonso breeze past? That would not be the Lewis that Alonso clearly has huge respect for and Mercedes have hired.

 

[F1ang-o]

Lap 31 Merc team radio...
LH " Is Alonso on a 3 stop?"
Merc Pit reply..." Yes he is Lewis, but we still want to keep him behind.".

 

[racecub]

I was watching at a friends on sky and in the analysis afterwards I remember them looking at that incident in slow motion. It showed the wheel that was locked bouncing up and down. I'm not sure if this was because it touched a paint line? i can't remember all they said about it. Does anyone else remember that?

 

[Bill Boddy]

racecub by braking so late Hamilton ensured that Alonso would either be taken out or get past. It wasn't a matter of letting Alonso past or not, it was too late for that. There are some situations where it is better to accept what has happened and get on with the job in hand, a racing driver should know the difference between them.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

It was a superb piece of driving except for locking up the brakes, flat spotting the tyre very badly, missing the apex entirely, nearly taking Alonso out, losing speed due to overshooting allowing Alonso the inside line for the next corner and also coming out of the corner slower than Alonso ensuring that he lost position on the short straight.

It is a race and he was racing and there was nothing unsafe about his driving. Seems you are looking for a reason to knock Lewis. He fought to hold the position, ultimately lost it, which was inevitable, but held onto it for one more corner. In fact, he could have let Alonso go half a lap earlier. Nothing lost and a little gained. Racing is supposed to be on-the-edge stuff at this level and it's what I tune in to watch 19 times a year.

 

[racecub]

I've been trying to find out more about that incident. I don't think it was just a case of burning in too fast, I think when he hit the brakes he either hit a bump or a line or something which set that wheel bouncing and not gripping properly. I've got to go out now but will try to find it later. Anyhow, I don't think Lewis would do anything different in similar circumstances. He did the best he could. it was exciting and good defending, even if ultimately it was too big an ask.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I am not looking for an excuse to knock Hamilton (I am not on christian names with him), I am replying to a post. I happen to disagree with what was posted and feel that I am not alone in this, as you may see by the by the comments by Brogan.

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/mercedes.3367/page-29#post-186098

 

[F1ang-o]

Another Merc radio message..
Merc Pits...."Lewis we need to pick the pace up."
LH reply " I'm going flat out man.."

Unfortunately, I don't know when this was said...I think it was late..ish in the race.

The race is being repeated again this afternoon on Sky.
Edit..Aust race repeat today 7pm til 11.30pm

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Bill Boddy. And you are entitled to your opinion and to disagree with mine as much as I am entitled to call Lewis Hamilton by Lewis or Fernando Alonso as Nando (as he signs off in his Facebook posts) or Sergio Perez as Checo or Jenson Button as JB. What a pathetically petty point to pick up on and what a desperate red herring from the point of discussion.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I am afraid that all I have to go on is my live recording of the race. It does have the advantage of being able to look at incidents in low speeds though.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I just found this on YouTube.

Did you not say that Lewis (I will call him Lewis) missed the apex? Maybe you are watching the wrong thing. He clips it in this incident that we are discussing. Maybe you need to engage your slow mo at it's slowest setting.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Sorry ExtremeNinja I was replying to a post by F1ang-o which seemed to be implying that watching a repeat was the best way to go.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

and apologies for my flippancy.

 

[The Pits]

I know that Lewis does drive for Mercedes, but this thread is being pulled to be about Lewis, not Merc. Can we please keep on topic.

Can we also keep the pettiness and niggling to zero.

Thank you

The Pits

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Apologies. I lost track of where we were and was responding to the comment. Will edit anything that could be considered rude from my post. Feel free to move stuff over to the Lewis thread. I agree that it's better discussed there, or probably more suitably in the race discussion thread.

 

[F1ang-o]

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/8580512/Wolff-Merc-a-bit-better-this-year

Hope the tyres don't factor too much..........
Racing...not looking after tyres.

Edit.. taken out LH & McLaren reference

 

[Brogan]

Bye bye Nick Fry.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/mar/21/mercedes-f1-toto-wolff-nick-fry

 

[Fenderman]

I just love how these reporters run out of ideas. Writer's thought process ""the headline ...Toto Wolff will take over Nick Fry's duties, a bit about Nick Fry, a bit about Mercedes and ... oh well I'll just pad it out with some stuff from Lewis ... yup, that'll do"

 

[Il_leone]

Brogan

No big loss to Mercedes he was a good spokesperson from a business point of view but useless at running an F1 team

 

[ExtremeNinja]

One thing is for sure, and that is that Mercedes are on a mission and are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for supremacy. The team are gathering the momentum of a steam train and it's hard to see how they are not going to make a success of this. The operation is being completely transformed and with every change they look stronger and stronger, on paper at least. I for one would like to see this all pay off for them as I think they can continue to be a great asset to the sport. I'm going to put money down now, if anyone will take it, for them to take both titles in 2014.