Major upgrades for Mercedes next week including new nose according to AMUS. The Mercedes AMG W05 saw in the first week of testing of Bahrain from not much different than in Jerez. The basic work is now complete. Next week the first major upgrade comes to the car. We have heard that a new nose with it. It should be slightly lower, but interfere with the front wing still less because the suspension points are further back. Only then will you see how fast the cars really are. Maybe then falls even Rosberg's pole position from the previous year. The stands at 1.32,330 minutes. http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...rosberg-schnellster-trotz-fehler-8087131.html
I imagine several teams will be bolting on big upgrades are this next test. Get to see a much better picture, even though there will still be tea bagging
If they do dominate then I think it will be on the same scale as the Brawn domination in early 2009. Other teams would eventually catch up.
I think a lot of teams will end up with some kajor design changes by mid-season. What is good is that Merc have shown yoou don;t have to have a hideous pointy nose to be fast with the new rules.
The designs will converge when everyone has a chance to see what works. Advantage is temporary, especially with new rules. That's F1 I guess.
It looks like they are using big turbos so they will have lag which they can use the electric motor to eliminate. They may chose not to use the electric motor or use it to harvest to reduce torque as a sort of traction control system.
Okay, so the Renault teams are currently losing 100-150bhp becuase they have to turn the wick down to make them last. Has anyone heard what that equate to in lost lap time around Bahrain? The fastest 'Renault' was 5.4s slower than Rosberg, or just 2.2s behind Ferrari if you beleive Ferrari have not pushed yet so that is probably a more representative comparison (if true!). Would that not make Lotus and Torro Rosso pretty equal to Ferrari, if they could run their engines at full power?
Seems Ferrari are getting forced by Mercedes and Renault to improve that turbo safety. http://www.worldcarfans.com/114022170602/f1-protest-threat-hangs-over-melbourne-opener even more of an advantage to Mercedes.
Just noticed that rosbergs time was less than 0.04s off the fastest time in fp3 in Bahrain last year. F1 has gone from worryingly slow to potentially faster than last year. As tracks go I don't think Bahrain suits these new cars any more than average.
Also, is it slightly awkward that renault managed more miles than ferrari in Bahrain? please log in to view this image
