Tag Archives: Mercedes

Rosberg on the W07: “I felt at home straight away…”

The Mercedes W07 became the first 2016 F1 car to run any laps when it took to the track at Silverstone at 1015 this morning, in the hands of Nico Rosberg.

As has become a tradition Mercedes used one of its promotional or filming days to shake the car down on Pirelli ‘demo’ tyres, prior to the start of official testing at Barcelona on Monday.

Lewis Hamilton took over later in the day, and between them the drivers completed 98.2kms of running.

It’s been a special day, it’s always a great experience,” Rosberg told Sky TV’s tenacious Craig Slater, who had waited all day outside the track front gates. “I know so much about this car, but everything on paper – numbers, aerodynamic values, and what everybody has been telling me, and now to see it all come together last night in the factory.

They worked all night for the last I don’t know how many nights, and then how impressed everyone was with the details, all the mechanics got their first look at it, it was a great feeling. And then to take it around today in anger was very enjoyable, just to be out there on my own, just to feel this new machine, it was a good day.

It was a good feeling to start with for sure. I felt at home straight away. I could push as if I raced Abu Dhabi yesterday. A good beginning, but of course I look forward to Barcelona testing now.”

The car will be unveiled on Monday morning in Barcelona, although images will be released this weekend.

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Throttle problem prompted Rosberg safety concerns

Nico Rosberg admits he had safety concerns when he started experiencing throttle pedal problems early in the Russian GP.

The German was heard asking the team what would happen if the pedal struck open, but shortly afterwards the issue forced him to pit and retire, all but ending his title hopes.

That was concerning,” he said when asked by this writer how worried he was. “A throttle [problem] is never a nice thing, especially when it was sticking. So I was definitely concerned. So that was why I asked the team what should I do if the throttle sticks, I am full on the brakes. They said there was an automatic fail safe on the car, which removes the throttle in that case when it sees a big overlap, brake and throttle – it will cut the throttle. So that was reassuring at that point.

I had a throttle stick once in Monaco in a similar way actually, in a Williams in 2006. It brought back some memories of that a little bit.

The change happened during the safety car already, so right after the start actually, and from then on I couldn’t come off throttle, so I was doing all the corners with throttle on and then eventually it the throttle on was so much that I couldn’t get around the corners any more.

It was one big step on the safety car already as it came towards me, and just another small one afterwards which meant that it was the end of it. I was trying to take my leg off the pedal, but then the knee would come up and I couldn’t steer any more, and so it was different problems coming in there.”

Rosberg said that recent reliability problems at Mercedes have been frustrating.

It is a strange one, this year it looked like we were looking so good on reliability. To then have still quite a few issues, it is surprising and it has gone worse and worse now through the season, especially in the last couple of months we had loads more issues and race stoppers and things like that. We must look into that again, and continue to improve that area. It seems we haven’t made as big steps as we thought.”

Rosberg conceded that his title chances are now remote: “You have to be realistic now. It is a lot of points. It doesn’t change my approach. I am still pushing to the maximum, and committed, and going for it mentally. So it doesn’t really change much. Disappointing in that respect today, because I was looking to close the gap today, and then anyways, going to the next race and I want to win there. That is the goal at the moment.

It is tough. So much go into a weekend like that. The preparation starts at the beginning of the week with being at the factory, discussing everything and coming here, having an awesome weekend, qualifying, race start, first corners and everything really going to plan and then to lose it in such a way is very tough.”

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Toto Wolff: Mercedes won’t back down on Red Bull decision

Toto Wolff has reiterated that Mercedes will not supply engines to Red Bull next season, and says that no new discussions have taken place.

Wolff and Niki Lauda had a lengthy meeting with Bernie Ecclestone today, but Wolff denies that the F1 boss was trying to twist his arm and reverse the decision.

“It was a conversation about general topics – life!,” Wolff told this writer. “Bernie doesn’t twist arms, Bernie makes it very subtle. Honestly, we didn’t discuss the topic. It might sound strange, we have every day a discussion and this was a very public one, but there was nothing spectacular we discussed.

“We really took some time to analyse the situation over the summer. We tried to understand what Red Bull’s situation was, and expected or waited for some feedback, and finally when things didn’t move we decided to pursue our current strategy by supplying Williams and the independent teams, and not pursue the Red Bull option.

“We didn’t change our opinion. It got a bit confused at the beginning of the week with certain statements, but it didn’t change. We have three customers teams plus us, and this is the structure that we want to work with.”

Yesterday Ecclestone made it clear that he was frustrated that Red Bull had started to talk to Mercedes before Manor, and yet the latter managed to secure a deal. However Wolff sees no connection between the two.

“The Manor deal has no link whatsoever with Red Bull. There were many other factors which led to the decision to not pursue what were really early stage discussions.”

Wolff said that he doesn’t believe that Mercedes or Ferrari will be painted as the bad guys for not helping Red Bull.

“I don’t think that anybody put us in that bad guy situation. Every team is responsible for how you manage your business, and this is why I don’t see at all that that happened.”

Meanwhile Toto downplayed the third car option, despite having sounded enthusiastic about when asked in Suzuka.

“We need to all try and do our best to keep Red Bull in the sport, Red Bull and Toro Rosso, because Red Bull is a great brand and has done a lot for F1. If it were to happen the fall back solution would be three cars. But I’d rather have the first thing solved and have Red Bull and have three cars on top of that and have a really full grid of 24, 26 cars.

“It’s clear that not a lot of people have an appetite for three cars, for valid or not valid reasons. If Red Bull and Toro hopefully stay in the sport we’ll have 22 cars anyway next year.”

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Mercedes confirms Manor supply deal for 2016

Mercedes will supply Manor with power units in 2016, the manufacturer has confirmed.

The British team will have current-year engines, as well as Petronas fuel, for a deal that goes beyond next season. Manor will also have Williams gearboxes and, in a deal similar to that enjoyed by Haas, Williams suspension components.

Merc boss Toto Wolff said: “Mercedes-Benz has a clear Formula One philosophy based around our works Silver Arrows team and supplying benchmark Power Units to independent customer teams. We believe this approach provides Formula One with greater strength in depth and ensures a deeper level of competitiveness throughout the field.

“In anticipation of Renault’s takeover of the Lotus F1 Team, we are pleased to announce Manor Marussia as a new customer of Mercedes-Benz. It is a tenacious team with a fantastic competitive spirit, and we are all excited to see what step forward they can make next year with their new car coupled with the Mercedes-Benz Hybrid Power Unit.”

As reported here last weekend, Wolff admitted in Japan that a Mercedes protege such as Pascal Wehrlein or Esteban Ocon (also linked to Renault) could be part of the Manor deal.

However, he suggested that whatever discount Mercedes gave to get a driver a seat could be trumped by an outsider with a big budget, given that a Manor-Mercedes would be a more competitive package than the current car.

“That could be an interesting scenario, but the harsh financial reality is that Manor needs to refinance themselves and raise the budgets and I’m not sure that we would prepare to place a driver with budgets they could probably raise in the driver markets if we were to supply engines, because it could be an attractive offer for young drivers.

“It’s a bit of a tricky situation. We haven’t got a dedicated driver programme, we have Pascal, who is with us, whose main focus is DTM, and I don’t want to take him away from that focus. He has done a great job for us and he is a very exciting young driver, but I’d rather like to see how DTM pans out. So yes, that’s a possibility, but it needs many pieces of the jigsaw to come together, and it could well not happen.”

Wolff indicated that should GP3 star Ocon want to take up a Renault offer, even for a reserve role, Mercedes would not stand in his way.

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Mercedes mystified by lack of pace in Singapore

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits that the team doesn’t know why its drivers struggled to find performance in Singapore – but says he hopes that the issue was specific to the street track.

Lewis Hamilton retired with an engine problem having run fourth, and his position was inherited by team mate Nico Rosberg, who was far behind the podium finishers.

I am always pessimistic side,” said Wolff. “But I don’t believe that you lose car performance from one weekend to another like we did, and someone else found 1.5 seconds. We spoke to the drivers, the degradation was massive and unexplainable from us.

We also need to stay calm as this is a very specific circuit, very specific the way the tyre operates compare to other circuits. We have Suzuka in one week, the car is the same, we haven’t lost performance of the car. We need a methodical approach.

You need to find the right balance, you cannot write it off and say that was a one-off, and on the other side you cannot say you are terrified, that would be panic mode and completely inappropriate and wrong. It is about analysing. We believe this is a circuit specific problem on tyres where we didn’t get grip, this is how you explain the gaps, and we have to show that in Suzuka unless we have that very heavy rain forecast for Saturday/Sunday.”

Wolff admits that Ferrari’s performance has picked up lately.

We have already seen that already in Monza when they bought the new engine, they continued to develop the car but we should not fall into depression. Remember Spa they had a very difficult weekend, and a car not good enough for a podium. We must stay focused and aware that we are a very solid team and solid car and solid engine.”

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Toto Wolff: “They are mentally very strong, both of them…”

Toto Wolff says that Nico Rosberg’s win in Barcelona on a day when Lewis Hamilton faced frustration doesn’t necessarily signal a shift in the balance of power within the Mercedes camp.

While the consensus from outside observers is that victory for Nico will be a big boost for the German, Wolff insists that it’s not that simple.

“They are mentally very strong, both of them,” said Wolff. “And I think as much as we would like to find a dynamic that is pro or against a driver, they come out very strong even after a bad weekend or a defeat. After the debrief is over, they concentrate on the next one. We’ve seen it last year. We have spent time talking, is that now Nico on the run, has the balance swung more towards him, or is it now Lewis?

“I think you are probably going to see the same thing again this season, two drivers who are matching each other, trying to outperform each other. For us as a team it’s really a good situation, because it lifts the performance of the whole team, and it’s the best case.”

Wolff said there was no single reason why Rosberg had the upper hand over the course of the weekend.

“It’s difficult to see. If you are on such a level playing field it’s about feeling comfortable in the car, it’s about feeling comfortable on the track. I think before the weekend Lewis mentioned that Barcelona wasn’t his favourite one. I don’t know if that is the reason.

“It was difficult this weekend to get it right set-up wise, with the gusty winds and the lack of grip from session to session. And then obviously going into the race the minute you are able to control the race from the front it gives you an advantage. This is just want Nico did today, in a very controlled way.”

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Lewis Hamilton: “It’s kind of damage limitation for me…”

Lewis Hamilton says second place in Spain was “damage limitation” after a poor start and a bad first pit stop combined to make his afternoon a difficult one.

From second on the grid Hamilton slipped behind Sebastian Vettel at the start, and then his chance of getting past the Ferrari at the first stops was ruined when a delay with the left rear wheel cost three seconds. He eventually had to use a three-stop strategy to find a way past, although it was too late to challenge leader Nico Rosberg.

Obviously I had quite a poor start,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a poor start. I tried my best to recover – I nearly dropped back to fourth at the start so I was very fortunate to keep third – and then it was just trying to fight… Unfortunately, this track isn’t very good for overtaking.

Actually it’s the worst for overtaking. It’s impossible to follow here, which is a shame. It doesn’t matter what you do, you cannot get close enough even with the DRS, which is a shame.

Nonetheless, I did everything I could behind Sebastian and did enough, I think, in the first stint but then I had a very long pit stop and then had to kind of do it all again. But fortunately towards the end it was enough to get it done on a three-stopper, I was able to get by. If I was behind him in traffic I wouldn’t have got past. I’m grateful I could gain those points for the team and it’s kind of damage limitation for me, so it’s not bad.”

Hamilton admitted it hadn’t been easy to get the car right this weekend.

You can’t change the car in qualifying but throughout practice I was tinkering, trying to get it ready for qualifying and ultimately it wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t bad in the race but yeah, today was a very very tough day, obviously, because I had to make up from the bad start and perhaps my true pace… I wasn’t really able to show it compared to Nico, as I was further behind.”

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Mercedes confirms Ocon has “support” deal

Mercedes has finally formally confirmed that Euro F3 champion Esteban Ocon will be “supported by the brand” this season – and that he could have a big future with the marque.

The Frenchman beat Max Verstappen to the F3 crown last year and did some testing for Lotus, but the team did not find a role for him. He is now racing in GP3 with ART, and is the Mercedes DTM reserve driver.

The company noted that “as part of the package of Mercedes-Benz support, Esteban has signed a contractual option that could see him become a fully fledged Mercedes-Benz driver in the future.”

Esteban is a mega-talented young guy and one of the stars of the future,” said Toto Wolff. “I’m pleased we’ve found a good path to continue his relationship with Mercedes-Benz, because we have a strong tradition of supporting the best young drivers with a view to their long-term potential. We will be watching Esteban’s progress with a lot of interest and I hope this year will be the first of many working together.”

I’m really proud to have the support of Mercedes-Benz this season and that the Mercedes AMG DTM team has trusted me with the important role of test and reserve driver,” said Ocon. “I spent last weekend with the DTM team in Hockenheim and hope that I can play a valuable role this year. But my main focus is on the opening races of the GP3 Series this weekend.”

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Red Bull’s call to rein in Mercedes is “funny,” says Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton said today that he finds Red Bull’s call for the FIA to rein in Mercedes as “funny” – given the success that RBR had in previous years.

Hamilton is adamant that Mercedes has worked hard to get where it is today.

“I find it quite funny,” he said when asked by this writer about Christian Horner’s comments. “It’s an interesting opinion coming from individuals who have had so much success. Also it’s only been one race, so to already have comments after the first race is what I find funny.

“And then on the personal side it was a big step for me to come to this team that had had so many years of poor performance – they hadn’t had the success of other teams. Not once did this team ever complain to others in order to equalise things, they just worked their arses off. We came to this team and saw them making that progress, and now they’re the best team, we’ve pulled together and done an amazing job.

“It’s not just me here it’s more than a thousand people working back at the two factories to build the best car, and we’ve done that with the same rules and the same resources that the other top teams have generally had. I’m really very proud of that. I think it’s kind of a funny situation.”

Hamilton is confident that Mercedes can stay ahead as this season unfolds: “With my understanding of the rules and how F1 is, and knowing how limited your time is in the wind tunnel and development, we all have that same amount of time. Providing we push forward thr same speed as everyone else, we should stay ahead. I believe the team will do that. Of course we never knew what others were going to do coming into the season, we didn’t know how much improvement others would have done.

“But we’re obviously very pleased with the work the team has done – obviously we were pretty competitive last year, and to still make an improvement on top of that is pretty exceptional. It’s a true showing of how amazing this team is now. If these people stay in the same place, and the right philosophy is taken, this team will be strong for many, many years.”

Meanwhile Lewis is hoping that he can keep up his Australian GP form.

“It’s only one qualifying session and Nico didn’t get his qualifying session right. I’m happy that I was able to perform that way and I plan to keep performing in that way. It still wasn’t perfect and I can improve, and with the race I think it just continued generally what I was doing for. There’s not really much progress – it’s small increments.

“I think Nico will be quick this weekend and he’ll be pushing as hard as he always did last year in qualifying. I’ve just got to try and keep up the momentum from the last race if I can.”

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First official look at the Mercedes W06

The new Mercedes ran at Silverstone today

The new Mercedes ran at Silverstone today


Mercedes has released the first official picture of the new W06 after the car was shaken down during a promotional day at a damp and cold Silverstone.

It became the second 2015 car to run after the Toro Rosso STR10 took to the track at Misano on Wednesday.

Merc W06 2

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