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Black Knight, you are of course right, but maybe Mercedes simply can't do better. Yes, they won the championship in 2009 as Brawn GP, but only because of the huge advantage in the beginning of the season, which was built with hundreds of millions of cash from Honda, right? As BAR and Honda, and now as Mercedes, they are good solid team, but not a championship winning team like Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren or the team from Enstone.
Mercedes is proving, what Toyota, Honda and BMW Sauber were proving in the past. That F1 is extremely difficult. Despite Mercedes having some really famous names onboard (Brawn, Costa, Willis, Bell), even this is not enough as can be seen. At least not yet. Even if you have got the money and brain power, it is still not easy to get it right.
Though I am struggling to understand, what is the missing link in the current Brackley team, which prevents them from reaching the top level. Perhaps they are lacking some real tyre experts in the team, because they have been struggling with tyres for some time (remember 2011 and degradation, 2009 and tyre heating). And as good as the Costas and Bells are, perhaps they are not really specialists in that particular area.
He is fine - give him a red bull
There are several missing links though some of them might be rectified by now.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
Firstly the best mid-level engineers have been poached by RBR, McLaren and other big budget teams. A lot of that happened during the Brawn period when the future of the team was in doubt. Rebuilding that experienced cadre takes time though they have certainly been trying.
Secondly Mercedes has done this on the cheap, buying the team for a lot less than the infrastructure would suggest the team was worth and also underspending (compared to the RRA limit) for several seasons. Also Mercedes haven't plugged the team into their own R and D network unlike Honda (which finally sorted this aspect out just in time to build the Brawn 001...).
Thirdly the top level as you call it has just got hotter over the past few seasons. During the Honda period the top level meant Ferrari and McLaren. Now top level includes a third team, RBR.
I don't think Mercedes have done that bad a job considering.
It is a stange thing isn't it.Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
Mercedes and the others you mention Jens. All have failed in currant guises to find true success and yet. Mclaren, Ferrari and Red Bull are now all capable of producing winning cars year in year out.
However occasionally teams can find success from no where. i.e Brawn, Benetton (sort of).
So what is that ingredient that alot of teams can't find.
Well, Rosberg is at the moment on his knees and Schumacher is destroying him.
It's time for Mercedes to make a bold move. Besides making a good car, they need to hire a top flight pilot. Someone with experience and still in his prime, perhaps Hamilton or Vettel. Realistically though, this could be difficult as Mercedes team future still remains in doubt. Wasn't the M-B board of directors going to make a decision some time soon about whether to continue in F1? It seems like some board members are not impressed with the F1 effort.
Mr Walker. MR WALKER! We've told you before. You are not to use that computer unsupervised. Now come here. It's time for your medication.Quote:
Originally Posted by Garry Walker
:p
Not destroying, but proving to be a worthy rival at least.
Everyone seems to be conveniently overlooking the fact that, as Brawn, the team shed a shedload of staff for financial reasons and because of the RRA. I suspect this is affecting them a lot more than we think. After all, Merc are not like Red Bull, who are happy to (and can afford) to spend their way out of a hole (being able to afford to pay for clever accountants to fudge the numbers).Quote:
Originally Posted by jens