Formula One car development blog

Mercedes introduced a considerable update package at Spa, making sure they kept their advantage to the competition. Possibly the most important of those updates was the revamp of the car's nose cone which required a new crash test. The new solution is smaller at its bottom and also slightly higher at the top - note how the supports for the cameras have become shorter. This not only gave aerodynamic gains, but according to G. Piola this also helped to reduce weight, a feature that wa... Read more

Mercedes AMG have finally introduced their bespoke new nose cone for its F1 W05. Initially scheduled for introduction at the Australian Grand Prix, the nose cone design had to be adapted repeatedly and failed the FIA crash test three times before passing the front impact test.

The team mentioned their new nose would make it easier to balance the car, admitting that the one raced so far was just a simple version while this development was ongoing. Sharing obvious similarities, the ne... Read more

Having enjoyed a reliable test Jerez, Mercedes have begun varying aerodynamic parts and verify performance, rather than only reliability. Mercedes appear to have had a very close look at Red Bull's rear end packaging during its few outings at Jerez as the team have introduced new bodywork around the exhaust.

Until noon, the F1 W05 was seen with the same spec as in Jerez, with narrow bodywork around the central exhaust and large oval cooling outlets on each side of the gearbox. The n... Read more