FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[racechick]

Autosport devaluing Schumacher? There's a shocker(!)

No, read the article!! it's exactly the opposite. They're saying in view of Rosberg's strong showing against Hamilton, Schumachers return needs to be revalued. In simple words, he did better than he was given credit for.

Probably why I ""thought"" it should be posted again!!
((does that work as an "excuse"? ))

LOL no worries Sagi, I don't always read the really long articles that Ar posted. I only post them if they're subs only because I get the subs version.
It is a good article. It's an in depth interview with Brawn by J. Noble . He answers all sorts of questions.

[sagi58]

Autosport devaluing Schumacher? There's a shocker(!)

No, read the article!! it's exactly the opposite. They're saying in view of Rosberg's strong showing against Hamilton, Schumachers return needs to be revalued. In simple words, he did better than he was given credit for.

Probably why I ""thought"" it should be posted again!!
((does that work as an "excuse"? ))

LOL no worries Sagi, I don't always read the really long articles that Ar posted. I only post them if they're subs only because I get the subs version.
It is a good article. It's an in depth interview with Brawn by J. Noble . He answers all sorts of questions.

Just looked "properly"... Seems that Autosport took that looong interview and chopped it up so they could post different aspects of it!!

Grazie for posting the whole thing in all its glory!!

[andrew]

Autosport devaluing Schumacher? There's a shocker(!)

No, read the article!! it's exactly the opposite. They're saying in view of Rosberg's strong showing against Hamilton, Schumachers return needs to be revalued. In simple words, he did better than he was given credit for.

My bad.

I read the headline, saw it was Autosport and guessed they were up to their usual games where Schumacher is concerned.

[What's Burning?]

He should have stayed retired.

[sagi58]

He should have stayed retired.

Don't forget it wasn't just a matter of Schumi wanting to come out of retirement!!
After all, if Mercedes hadn't given him a seat, he may very well have stayed retired!!
It was a win-win situation for everyone concerned!!

[What's Burning?]

He should have stayed retired.

Don't forget it wasn't just a matter of Schumi wanting to come out of retirement!!
After all, if Mercedes hadn't given him a seat, he may very well have stayed retired!!
It was a win-win situation for everyone concerned!!

IDK if there was anything he really won. Merc got an all German team, maybe he was a face they could use to convince the board to spring for the investment in the first place. But Schumacher didn't win anything in my opinion. He got an opportunity to drive an F1 car competitively which if that's what he wanted at face value in the first place would be a good enough personal reason. I think a second hand comparisons about his abilities to Hamilton using Rosberg as a reference is not a "win" for the winningest guy by any stretch.

[Hammer278]

Old Man Schumi kept the seat warm for Lewis Hamilton and now he's gone....so who cares what he was anyway, Rosberg kicked his ar$e into the weeds and that's that, byebye Schumi, Mercedes doesn't need you anymore.

Back to the present...

Brawn confident Merc 'won't let it slip'

Ross Brawn says Mercedes can tackle the second half of the season in the same manner they finished the first, fighting at the front.

Having proven to be the team to beat on a Saturday afternoon with their one-lap pace, Mercedes finally hit the front on a Sunday as well when Nico Rosberg claimed the victory in Monaco.

The German and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton each secured another grand prix win to bring Merc's tally to three wins in five races ahead of the summer break.

And team boss Brawn says there's no reason they cannot continue that form when Formula One returns next weekend with the Belgian GP.

"There's some good things coming on the car in the next few races that I think are going to be a reasonable step. We've got the two low-drag races coming up and our low-drag package looks pretty respectable," Brawn said in an interview with Autosport.

"There'll be a point where, as with all teams, we'll be making a decision whether we carry on pushing with this car.

"There are a couple of different elements: what is exclusive to this car and what are things that you can do which are going to carry over into next year?

"Clearly any understanding of the tyres is going to be a benefit next year. But if we attempt to design a new front wing, that's got a limited life. That would be much less of a priority.

"I think for the rest of the season we'll have to take a balanced approach over what's needed this year and what's needed for this year and next year.

"But I think we'll have a much more respectable second half. We're scored more points already than we did last year, and we're just over halfway through. I think we've got a strong enough organisation to ensure we won't let it slip."

______________________________________________

I like Brawn's interviews, to the point, no giggling like a school girl or making false promises in every sentence....simply answers questions point blank in that sleepy mood he always seems to be in.

[CookinFlat6]

I like Brawn's interviews, to the point, no giggling like a school girl or making false promises in every sentence....simply answers questions point blank in that sleepy mood he always seems to be in.

[What's Burning?]

Brawn is the real deal. Still took Mercedes 3 years and a new driver pairing to come to the pointy end of the grid but I'm of the impression they're not going to peak and fade, they're going to be consistent at the front now that they've arrived.

[CookinFlat6]

Brawn is the real deal. Still took Mercedes 3 years and a new driver pairing to come to the pointy end of the grid but I'm of the impression they're not going to peak and fade, they're going to be consistent at the front now that they've arrived.

It took longer than that with Ferrari when they had MS and had been established for a long time. Brawn has made clear what caused the delay, from under staffing (when Brawn GP had a clear out), to under funding (when Merc respected the RRA) to sorting out wind tunnel problems etc. Everything he has said and done has shown that there is no inherent problem at the team

Remember, it wasnt long ago most were adamant that the team was fated to chew tyres and go fade during the year. Looking back at Brawns modus operandi he has always done things the same way, and has always been understated yet accurate with his predictions of what advantages his team will bring to bear

And now he is making the same noises about the updates for the rest of the year, and about Lewis supplying a true reference for the developers. He also mentioned reliability of the engines next year and again, that would be because he has already addressed this and is confident of his solution.

Ferrari and their place in F1 is what Mercedes are after. They are newly a manufacturer of retail (non concept) supercars and the commercial justification is there to be the standard in F1.

Brawn puts everything single component in place before temporary success, he has always done, and when he is ready - well, Ferrari show us what happens. Also he is not leaving the team anytime soon, instead Paddy will take over most of the trackside TP role with Brawn leading from another title.

I always thought this was what McLaren needed, Ron in a mid TP/board advisor role with Paddy doing the executive side of the TP job. I think Ferrari need this also, a leader with enough technical knowhow that 'architects' the teams direction, with a more engineering management focused track side TP. These teams with a TP who is effectively an employee and a seperate engineering leader cannot come up with a holistic enough operation to mirror the Enzos, and FW and Rons, so they have disjointed progress

Just MHO

[Jabberwocky]

Isnt that what Stewart said did Ford/Jaguar in as a team. They did not understand the quick dynamic changes that an F1 team needed.

Lets hope for Mercs continue success they go not get stuck in a "middle management" bitch fest because of all the technical principles. Hopefully Ross can keep them all in check.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

[CookinFlat6]

Isnt that what Stewart said did Ford/Jaguar in as a team. They did not understand the quick dynamic changes that an F1 team needed.

Lets hope for Mercs continue success they go not get stuck in a "middle management" bitch fest because of all the technical principles. Hopefully Ross can keep them all in check.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

Yeah I reckon they have that solution with Lauda/Wolfe and Brawn. The guy in charge on race day etc has to be an engineering brain and understand the feedback coming from the car and can be dynamic with changes etc. However there has to be a visionary who can link between the owners and the 'TP'
And there has to be a guy who acts as a cut off to the board (owners) to prevent them directly sending orders in

I reckon what Merc should have is a managing engineer as TP ( Paddy), lots of junior 'TP/TDs' in charge of a department or project reporting to Paddy, Paddy reporting to a visionary (Brawn), Brawns 2 links to the board Toto(executive) and Lauda as the non executive

The problem Brawn and Haug (and Ford/Honda/Toyota) had was the board not having a knowledgeable/impartial link outside Brawn (trackside) to give them a bigger picture, so they end up sending orders in.

Guys like Domenically who manage trackside whilst reporting to the board (Luca) and having the engineering brains report to them is unwieldy and slow to react. So you get Luca sending orders in but without knowing the track side engineering

Ross has the big picture, paddy leads the team and gets all resources working on that big picture, the board listen to Ross' dreams, but also have proper stakeholder reports from guys it trusts as they are also owners

If any of that makes sense

[What's Burning?]

I guess the days of just "racing" are long gone.

[Hammer278]

Isnt that what Stewart said did Ford/Jaguar in as a team. They did not understand the quick dynamic changes that an F1 team needed.

Lets hope for Mercs continue success they go not get stuck in a "middle management" bitch fest because of all the technical principles. Hopefully Ross can keep them all in check.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 4

Yeah I reckon they have that solution with Lauda/Wolfe and Brawn. The guy in charge on race day etc has to be an engineering brain and understand the feedback coming from the car and can be dynamic with changes etc. However there has to be a visionary who can link between the owners and the 'TP'
And there has to be a guy who acts as a cut off to the board (owners) to prevent them directly sending orders in

I reckon what Merc should have is a managing engineer as TP ( Paddy), lots of junior 'TP/TDs' in charge of a department or project reporting to Paddy, Paddy reporting to a visionary (Brawn), Brawns 2 links to the board Toto(executive) and Lauda as the non executive

The problem Brawn and Haug (and Ford/Honda/Toyota) had was the board not having a knowledgeable/impartial link outside Brawn (trackside) to give them a bigger picture, so they end up sending orders in.

Guys like Domenically who manage trackside whilst reporting to the board (Luca) and having the engineering brains report to them is unwieldy and slow to react. So you get Luca sending orders in but without knowing the track side engineering

Ross has the big picture, paddy leads the team and gets all resources working on that big picture, the board listen to Ross' dreams, but also have proper stakeholder reports from guys it trusts as they are also owners

If any of that makes sense

Very much indeed, F1 really can serve as an MBA case study when you compare the different structures in place in different teams correlating with their historical/present success. Good stuff!

[What's Burning?]

I knew the baaastaaads left Mercedes for last on purpose. Okay, this completes the series.

TOPGEAR Tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen, 22 F1 cars will start their engines for the first time in nearly a month. It’s the Belgium Grand prix, the first of the nine remaining races in this year’s world championship. They promise to be some of the most exciting we have seen in a long time, and the reason is the team we have very deliberately left until last in our half term review: Mercedes AMG, home since January of Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE.

Mercedes and Lewis are the story of 2013. This weekend marks the start of what could be a real bid for a second world title for Hamilton and that — whether you are a fan or not — would be remarkable.

Twelve months ago it wasn’t just Lewis in meltdown (remember some of those tweets?). Mercedes was at the beginning of its mid-season decline, neither Michael Schumacher nor Nico Rosberg making it to Q3, and grinding out a seventh and 11th largely out of the gaze of the cameras. It wasn’t long after that the rumours started that Lewis and Mercedes were planning to get it on in 2013. On paper it didn’t look like it would be any less tempestuous than Lewis’ other major relationship (and we’re not talking about Roscoe the dog here, though Lewis let us know Roscoe was poorly this week, so ‘Get Well Soon Pooch’ from all of us here).

Nobody, Hamilton included, thought this year would be any different. The team needed to regroup around Hamilton and new boss Toto Wolff, and think about 2014. Although winter testing was promising, and Hamilton qualified third in Australia, it was obvious the W04 was no easier on its rear tyres than any of its predecessors. By the time the team arrived in Spain, it was expected that the two Mercs would go backwards in the race, even though they had locked out the front row of the grid alongside their third pole of the season. And it seemed like Rosberg had the edge on Hamilton, a feeling reinforced by Rosberg’s dominant win in Monaco. Hamilton admitted he was struggling.

Worse, the team was in trouble, having privately tested with Pirelli after the Spanish race, apparently a significant breach of the ban on in-season testing. Mercedes maintained there was no advantage to be had, but the test did seem to mark a change in the W04′s performance; Rosberg won in Monaco and at Silverstone, Hamilton secured pole in Britain, Germany and Hungary and converted the last with a drive many believe showed he is now back at the very height of his powers. What a difference a year makes. Mercedes is now second in the constructors’ championship.

The W04 hasn’t quite lost its appetite for tyres, but its pace and drivability appear for now to compensate. Best of all, the win in Hungary suggests the latest iteration of rubber suits the Mercedes. And don’t forget the reason why new rubber was needed in the first place: it cost Hamilton an almost certain win at Silverstone, which would have narrowed the gap to Vettel by 13 points.

As it stands it’s 48 points. Hamilton is only fourth behind both Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, but the momentum is with Hamilton and you’d have to favour his chances, certainly over Alonso, and probably Räikkönen too.

We could be in for nine amazing races. Hamilton, if not the very best, is certainly one of the three best drivers in F1 right now, but McLaren never gave him a car and/or the support he needed to challenge Vettel these last three years. Who would ever have imagined Mercedes would do so quite so soon?

Luckily for the 99 per cent, all of us can watch this weekend’s action as it’s all on the BBC; practice tomorrow (at 0900 and 1300), qualifying on Saturday (1300) and the race on Sunday (again at 1300).

See you then.

Half term grades

Mercedes: A minus

Hamilton: A

Rosberg: A