2011 end of term report – Mercedes GP

Mercedes GP was hoping to challenge the top three teams in 2011 but didn’t achieve its goal.
It couldn’t even score a podium and didn’t really close the gap to Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. However, it had a bit of a gap over the rest of the field.

Season review

Mercedes unveiled its MGP W02 on February 1st at Valencia. The team placed in it high expectations and targeted at least a win. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were the race drivers and fared well in winter testing. So Mercedes flew to Melbourne with the hope of fighting for the win.

Its hopes were quickly dashed as the cars proved not competitive enough. Both drivers were implicated in race accidents and retired. Michael Schumacher brought the team its first points in Malaysia. With just two points on the board, Mercedes was down in 8th place in the constructors’ standings. As a comparison, Red Bull had 78 points, McLaren 48 and Ferrari 36.

The MGP W02 soon appeared to be too harsh on its tyres. It was particularly obvious in the streets of Monaco. However, there were some glimpses of hope for the Silver Arrows. Nico Rosberg qualified in 3rd place at Istanbul and finished the race in 5th position. Schumacher, meanwhile, had a brilliant race in Canada and finished 4th.

Both Mercedes drivers consistently scored points and helped the team to settle in 4th place.

In the background, the management hired some high-profile engineers to reinforce its technical department: former technical directors Bob Bell, Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis. The latter two only joined the team recently so their input on next year’s car should be limited.

Conclusion

From the first Grand Prix of the year, it clearly appeared the MGP W02 wouldn’t allow the team to challenge the top three teams. Contrary to 2010, the German team couldn’t even score a podium. It also scored fewer points than in the previous year. On the positive side, the Silver Arrows were reliable – the team suffered only two technical retirements – and had excellent top speed.
The pit crew was also extremely competitive and often performed the fastest tyre changes.

Expectations

Mercedes will rely on the same driver line-up next season and will be hoping for its new technical recruits to push the team forward. Aldo Costa will head the aerodynamic department while Geoff Willis will overview the mechanical side. Both will report to the new technical director Bob Bell.
In 2012, the team will be known as Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

Highs
—  Schumacher’s 4th place in Canada
—  Rosberg’s 3rd place on the grid at Istanbul
—  Recruitment of Bob Bell, Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis

Lows
—  No podium
—  Scored 49 points less than in 2010
—  No point in Australia and Monaco

Nextgen-Auto.com marks :
— Olivier Ferret : 11/20
— D.Thys : 14/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 12/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 11/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 12/20
—  Total : 60/100