F1 Fanatic

There is a difference of opinion regarding Hamilton’s move to mercs, but can they produce a championship winning car any time soon?

I for one am not ruling out merecedes producing a very quick in ’13, they started this season with a car arguably on par with the Mclaren on one lap pace (tyres issues hindered their race pace), and had they not been so obsessed with the DDRS, they could have focused on aero development which would have kept them up to pace in the development race. They shifted focus on next yrs machine early on and effectively used this car for testing bits for the majority of the second half of the season. I think it is too early to rule mercedes out of next yrs title and just say their best hope is the reg changes for ’14.

Gary Anderson also pointed out something very interesting, he said Hamilton leaving Macca benefits him and Mclaren. Over his 3 yr stint wih JB, Mclaren has had to make a compromise with the its car in that JB needs it to be 1000% balanced otherwise he’s slow, whereas Lewis prefers a car with less rear downforce. He said this had hindered JB and Lewis, but at Mercs the car will be solely designed around him without the need for a compromise to suit Nico as they have similar driving styles anyway.

Overall its going to be exciting to see what the Lauda/Hamilton/Brawn/Rosberg(/Schumacher?) combo can come up with!!

I think you’re right with a few of them points! Mercedes have themselves admitted they were too pre-occupied with the DDRS early in the season which is why they fell back (in the first 3 rounds the Merc looked to be the closest Car to Mclaren although it struggled with its race pace because of tyre issues) and then I think probably from the summer break onwards its all been about the 2013 car.

Im not sure that Mercedes are “solely” developing their car around Hamilton but I would have thought after their investment in him that they are going to make sure they give him something he can work with. But I think its vital he gets that team around him (which he has more chance of doing away from Mclaren were it always seemed to be more of a parent/child relationship) because that’s what he lacked at Mclaren that Ferrari and Red Bull give Vettel and Alonso – Emotionally (and technically in Ferrari’s case) they are behind their number 1 drivers.

I think Hamilton will win a race or 2 and that Mercedes will be a lot more competitive this year than they were for the 2nd half of 2012 but the championship will be too far away. 2014 will be their big chance, and they will surely get it right at some point with all the great technical people now there.

The Hamilton-Brawn partnership I believe has the makings of a great 1 and there’s no doubt that Lewis will wring every last thousandth of a seconds worth of performance out of it. Going to be interesting to see especially as a Hamilton fan!

How long is Rosberg tied up to Mercedes? I wonder what his feelings are with it all? He’s probably going to be on about half the salary that Hamilton is on.

I don’t think that the 2013 car will suit Hamilton’s driving style because he signed so late in the season and he will know that. However I think in 2014 it will be a different story, Because the new engine regulations and a raft of new rules come into play.

I think that if Hamilton or Mercedes can improve in 2013 etc:
Hamilton wins 2 or 3 races and Mercedes get 4th in the Constructors that would really give them hope to bring a fantastic car for 2014 and beyond.