Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+

[zibby43]

With the rate at which Merc has developed their FW this year, I think you're probably spot on about further optimization there. Merc's bargeboard refinement in Spain yielded them 3 tenths alone (according to the engineers), and the bargeboards are a ripe area of development this year, so I'm guessing we could see some new furniture in that area.

It would be very interesting to see which tweaks they would do there. The bargeboard area on the Mercedes already looks like it’s from Star Wars. Pretty amazing that there still are tenths to squeeze out from there.

What’s frustrating as a fan from another team is that Mercedes seems to be developing on another level. It’s like they have tools others don’t have. And every time they put something on the car, the question is not wether it will work, the question is when it will work (after setup refinements).

I agree. It's amazing how frequently their upgrades hit, and how quickly they can optimize the car's setup around them.

The only times I can think of where they stumbled *a bit* were going from Sepang to Japan in 2017. They introduced a big update in Sepang and Hamilton rejected it and finished 2nd, whereas Bottas kept the upgrade and finished 5th.

By Japan, Merc finally had the upgrade package working and optimized on both cars. And then, of course, there was preseason testing this year, where Merc didn't finally get on top of their car until the last day of the 2nd week, when they set the car up completely contrary to what they had been doing, and it started to work.

[zibby43]

Hamilton's front wing damage (flap adjuster gone (i.e., broken - edited for clarity)) during the Austrian GP:

[roon]

The flap adjuster is still there in that photo. Inside the circle. Photo taken pre-damage? Not visible in the left photo due to being behind the endplate, left of the green-blue paint stripe. It's a teardrop shaped pod painted hi viz yellow, attached with two legs. Close up shots in these posts:

viewtopic.php?p=841942#p841942

viewtopic.php?p=841736#p841736

[zibby43]

The flap adjuster is still there in that photo. Inside the circle. Photo taken pre-damage? Not visible in the left photo due to being behind the endplate, left of the green-blue paint stripe. It's a teardrop shaped pod painted hi viz yellow, attached with two legs. Close up shots in these posts:

viewtopic.php?p=841942#p841942

viewtopic.php?p=841736#p841736

Think what we're looking for here is a change in flap angle/height as a result of the breakage. Don't think the flap adjuster was completely removed. It was just broken, and you see the flap drop down a few degrees - nearly flat - in the right photo.

[SiLo]

Really they got screwed by the heatwave and not being able to manage the temps like the other teams. For one lap Hamilton was way faster than everyone else even on old tyres when the guys in front had pitted.

[SiLo]

I was meant to add, he then got told to slow down by the team because the car was overheating. I think they really had good pace but were limited by their cooling package that was clearly inferior to Red Bull and Ferrari.

[izzy]

I was meant to add, he then got told to slow down by the team because the car was overheating. I think they really had good pace but were limited by their cooling package that was clearly inferior to Red Bull and Ferrari.

yes the car's faster with having small radiators normally, but this time the combination of the low air density and high temperatures was too much. Over the whole season tho, it might turn out to have been a good way to go, i mean this 3rd and 5th was their version of disaster! Not bad for a low point, and shows what their standard is, and now we'll see again at Silverstone how great those little radiators are

[zibby43]

AMuS article confirming upgrades for Merc at Silverstone, with even bigger upgrades for the German GP.

Mudflap was on the money.

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... juni-2019/

"But even at Mercedes, the development race isn't finished. The championship leader has announced several new parts for the upcoming race at Silverstone. Mercedes plans on introducing their biggest update at their home race in Hockenheim."

[zibby43]

[roon]

Take your kid to work day?

Good comparison of front and rear suspension, there. Similar execution, these days. Front pullrods could work pretty well with the offset upper pivots.

[Just_a_fan]

Mercedes plans on introducing their biggest update at their home race in Hockenheim."

It's funny that the home race isn't the one that's 8 miles from the factory, rather it's the one that's a 600 mile drive away!

[Jackles-UK]

Mercedes claim to have three “home” races - Silverstone is closest to the factories, Hockenheim is closest to the Mercedes big-wigs and Singapore is closest to the Petronas people who have funded a huge chunk of their success!

Am I right in thinking that the reason teams went for a pull rod front suspension a few years ago was to obtain a wishbone as flat as Mercedes have this year? I remember a few teams saying it was worth the headaches working with the pull rods for the aero gain - it’s really apparent in the photo above that Mercedes now appear to have this aero gain with none of the pull rod downsides.

[Maritimer]

I thought pullrod was purely CoG related, lets you put the springs/dampers lower in the chassis.

[Cbckly917]

I thought pullrod was purely CoG related, lets you put the springs/dampers lower in the chassis.

Alongside that, pullrod rear suspension allows a lower, cleaner rear end layout that helps the aerodynamics.

[rscsr]

I thought pullrod was purely CoG related, lets you put the springs/dampers lower in the chassis.

afaiu in addition to the CoG benefit, a more horizontal wishbone would be shorter, therefore reducing the amount of drag. Additionally it can be made thinner due to a lower buckling length.