I'm sorry but I think Lewis is bluffing. Yes in quali terms they maybe a second off the pace but their consistent lap times at least shows me they have made a good step forward. They were fast on the hard and medium tyres and we are yet to see their speed on the soft tyre. This could be because they don't want to show their hand perhaps? Plus this encourages me too: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Fans The big news (Rumour) in the techie circles is that Aldo Costa has successfully honed and finished off the ultra complicated inter-linked suspension that Mercedes have tried to get working last year . There was a hydraulic connection, between the front and the rear axels, which makes it more avant-garde and with more potential. Hence the super consistent stints. Steffen Vogels ‏@MercedesAMGSpy Ross Brawn confirms: the Mercedes AMG #F1W04 is TWO seconds faster than the W03. We need another second to compete with the top teams. #F1
Maybe the W04 is not "F1 fast", but Pirelli fast? which I guess could excuse Lewis' attitude of sorts. The Mercedes have always been faster in qualifying than race, even with the W02 they were knocking on the front row and fighting with the McLaren. And if Lewis is bluffing I would consider him going into acting after his F1 career as he fooled me enough to warrent thinking the car is behind the big 4, maybe even the Sauber and Williams. He is honest though when you consider he is up against RBR, McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus, that's 8 cars already, not including Sauber, Williams and FI who are not slow either. It's a very tight field out there now.
Good point about being Pirelli fast. For me his facial expressions seemed false. He was smiling through some of the interview and has acknowledged the car is not slow, he just seems like he is downplaying expectations. I'm not saying they will win races straight away, but podiums? Maybe.
I think it will be worse than whatever Seb and Fred think, but better than Lewis makes out. I would say it would take some considerable luck to win a race this season but I think we are talking a Mercedes 2010 year with a decent amount of podiums up for grabs. If Lewis and Nico are consistent they'll get them Though that could be the beer talking...
If they are a second off the pace then maybe they are behind the closely matched top 4 (Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren) and Lewis is telling the truth when he says they can't win races and that the realistic aim is just to finish in the points.
Agreed we are talking about 8 cars here: Seb, Alonso, Webber, Button, Perez, Massa, Kimi, Grosjean; what are the odds of 5 of them DNFing? or ****ing up at the same time? the car won't be slow, but beating 6/8 of them will be hard enough let alone having an in form Seb and Alonso to contend with as well for the win.
I don't see Mercedes doing particularly well... you only have to look at the car compared to RBR, Ferrari, McLaren and Lotus. It looks clumsy, untidy and lacking engineering finesse of the others. I'd be amazed if they were able to legitimately fight for wins. Still... stranger things have happened though.
I don't see that as legitimately competitive though... that would require specific conditions and a dose of luck.
True. I still think we should judge them after the last test however. If they haven't made a big improvement with upgrades then it will be quite a struggle.
Oh totally... We really can't judge anything until the first race is over. I'm not expecting miracles though.
Level-headedness is the best, you won't be badly surprised if they don't meet expectations then, good on you. Take the lessons from my experience, I have never had such a roller-coaster of emotions in three seasons. I doubt I ever will again.
The most important thing to do is to lessen the pressure on Nico and Lewis and Mercedes as a whole, if you don't the media and haters will be out for blood. Keep expecting the worse and the media have nothing! Trust me keep doing it don't add on the pressure and all will be fine. The pressure isn't for your benefit, but for there's. Less pressure will produce more stable results IMO and hopefully stop them freaking out when luck comes on their side and the win is up for grabs. Want my opinion? KEEP DOWNPLAYING EVERYTHING! Don't get suckered in by people's opinion take Lewis words 100% and when the victory comes reveal in it and don't let it go. Why? because I'm 4x over the limit and I said so! I want Mercedes to win everything, but mentally they're under enough pressure as it is from the board, so help them out and slacken the result for the drivers and engineers please! The less pressure the better!
Marca aren't the most reliable source, but they do occasionally get it right. With that said, here they talk about the Ferrari F138:
