Mercedes W12

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b2bL44
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Joined: 21 Jan 2019, 02:46

Re: Mercedes W12

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https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/the- ... p/6515317/
The revamp that failed to help Mercedes win in Monaco

Mercedes has always had a weakness at slow speed circuits, with its long wheelbase and tyre characteristics not perfect for Formula 1 venues like Monaco and Singapore.

But with a tight battle on its hands against Red Bull, which excels at such venues, the world champion team pulled out the stops with a suspension revamp aimed to cure its Achilles Heel.

Whether the changes helped or not we will never know, as Valtteri Bottas was able to extract more from his car over the weekend than Lewis Hamilton.

But it was clear that the scope of the revisions certainly left Mercedes chasing an understanding of how best to extract pace from the car and tyres – which could well have played a factor in its disappointing result.

Sweeping changes

Mercedes' progress in the opening races of the season has mainly come from understanding and applying the right set-up, be it mechanical or aerodynamic, with the visible rear end instability seen during pre season dialed out with the help of only a few subtle updates.

However, the team introduced probably its most visible upgrade of the season so far in Monaco, as a new steering, suspension and brake assembly arrangement was deployed.

The low speed challenges of the Monte Carlo street circuit are like no other on the calendar and so all of the teams make concessions for this.

But, with a limousine-like wheelbase, the W12 perhaps needs a little more of a helping hand than most when it comes to navigating the likes of the famous Fairmont hairpin.

As can be seen in this comparison of the car from above, the track rod and lower wishbone were redesigned in order that they met the upright further forward than they had before.

The track rod (yellow dotted line) is not only broader but it's clear to see how much more dominant the flexure is where it meets with the brake duct inlet (inset).

There's also a much larger gap between the two elements, as can be seen with the green dotted line on the forward arm of the lower wishbone.

Clearly changes made by the team to help improve the low speed maneuverability of the W12 had a knock-on effect to the design of the brake duct too.

The changes made to accommodate a revised track rod and wishbone layout are made clear by the bulkier enclosure for the track rod (highlighted in yellow), which meant that to get a similar volume for the section of the inlet that's meshed off (highlighted in blue) the team had to sacrifice the rest of the inlet and make changes to how it was partitioned.

This means that the space is divided by just a single spar, rather than being divided by another horizontal section as in the normal arrangement.

This also goes to show how the brake duct is used both as a way of cooling the brakes and as a medium for moving airflow through the assembly for aerodynamic gain, with the latter sacrificed to maintain the required level of cooling for the street track.
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SiLo
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Joined: 25 Jul 2010, 19:09

Re: Mercedes W12

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Mercedes had a weakness in slow speed corners? I could have sworn they were the class of the field there since 2019... I thought these changes were just Monaco specific to beef up the suspension a tad in case of hitting a barrier at a funny angle...
Felipe Baby!

PhillipM
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Joined: 16 May 2011, 15:18
Location: Over the road from Boothy...

Re: Mercedes W12

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They were to give the car enough steering lock for the hairpin.

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SiLo
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Joined: 25 Jul 2010, 19:09

Re: Mercedes W12

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PhillipM wrote:
26 May 2021, 14:39
They were to give the car enough steering lock for the hairpin.
This makes even more sense. I don't think these changes are to be considered as "updates" in the general sense.
Felipe Baby!

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dans79
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Joined: 03 Mar 2013, 19:33
Location: USA

Re: Mercedes W12

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It's actually in the homogenization regulations that teams are allowed different front suspension just for monaco.

these are all the components that are allowed to be changed.
Wishbones / Links, Track-rod, Push/pull Rod, Bearings, Inboard Brackets not integrated in the survival cell, Fasteners, Wheel Tethers, local electrical and electronic components
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wesley123
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Joined: 23 Feb 2008, 17:55

Re: Mercedes W12

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I thought the problem was simply attributed to the setup? Bottas opted for the setup, whereas Lewis didn't
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marcush
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Joined: 27 Mar 2021, 19:26

Re: Mercedes W12

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as can be seen in lots of pictures the cars all show near paralell /neutral ackerman steering geometry in Monaco these days .They obviously run anti -Ackerman on every other circuit .
With more steering lock , Anti Ackerman
does not apply as much steering lock to the Inside wheel , wheras full ackerman geometry would give additional steering lock to the inside wheel to compensate for the tighter radius the inside wheel covers through the corner.
reducing anti Ackerman reduces lateral grip capacity on inside front wheel
as the tyre operates not at optimum slip angle for the vertical load it sees
The setup change is reducing total capacity of the front end so is towards u/s

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Sieper
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Joined: 14 Mar 2017, 15:19

Re: Mercedes W12

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Guys, not saying the Monaco specific update did not also allow for better slow speed cornering, but just look at the pictures posted, it was obviously strengthening the suspension (for potential smallish wall brushes). It was much beefier, straight through the brake duct.

holeindalip
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Joined: 11 Jun 2013, 01:58
Location: Decatur,IL USA

Re: Mercedes W12

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Sieper wrote:
02 Jun 2021, 19:29
Guys, not saying the Monaco specific update did not also allow for better slow speed cornering, but just look at the pictures posted, it was obviously strengthening the suspension (for potential smallish wall brushes). It was much beefier, straight through the brake duct.
The only thing changed was the steering rod through the brake duct, not a huge difference imho…

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MtthsMlw
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Joined: 12 Jul 2017, 18:38
Location: Germany

Re: Mercedes W12

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Diffuser detail
Image
via motorsport.com

DarthPlagueisTheVise
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Joined: 21 Sep 2020, 14:10

Re: Mercedes W12

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The pre monaco track rod and lower wishbone is back
Image
Image
Technical Noob

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Sieper
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Joined: 14 Mar 2017, 15:19

Re: Mercedes W12

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Exactly as I expected. Allthough, the potential for a steering rod knacking wall brush is very real here as well. But the aero cost much higher.

PhillipM
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Joined: 16 May 2011, 15:18
Location: Over the road from Boothy...

Re: Mercedes W12

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The monaco suspension was literally only on the car to give it enough steering lock for the hairpin. Nothing else. Of course they wouldn't use it here.

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F1Krof
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Joined: 22 Feb 2016, 21:17

Re: Mercedes W12

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So still nothing new, no?
Wroom wroom

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PlatinumZealot
550
Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 03:45

Re: Mercedes W12

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No. Some issues back at the factory getting the token changes right? Waited so long to see where the tokens will be used. Hope its like one second faster laptime when the upgrades come. =P~
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