Mercedes AMG F1 W03

[bhall]

As I said earlier, I think the piece I've marked with a red dot is how the ducts in the chassis couple with the nose.

[knabbel]

I want to see a picture more from the side with the nosecone off.

[myurr]

I guess I should have used something a little more apparent than blue dots on the picture I presented earlier.


(Click to enlarge)

In the background you can see the actual bulkhead, and then there's some carbon fibre in front of it. The CF that forms the holes your arrows point in to is actually sticking forwards from the bulk head and follows the contour of the nose.

I can see two pieces of carbon fibre coming forward that your arrows touch that look like they could be tubes or they could be covers for something else. We can't see the ends of the 'tubes' as they appear to run straight into the solid piece of CF with your red dot on. However they also seem to bow outwards.

So it's impossible to say if they're tubes and that some of that CF will be removed when the actual nose is fitted or if they're part of the crash structure or simply covers or something else entirely.

[Coefficient]

Gary Anderson persists in saying the front wing is stalled by air ducted from the hole that is uncovered when the DRS is activated. We have seen the slots on the underside of the front wing. I just don't see where the connection tubes are in this picture of the front bulkhead. I also don't understand where the air to those slots under the front wing comes from as the nose opening has to be for driver cooling.

Looking at the picture of the W03 whilst sat on the front paddock stand you can see that at the bottom left and right corners of the chassis the paddock stand mounts into a pair of holes. Could this be a clever way of hiding the ducts that feed the front wing F duct?

[beelsebob]

Looking at the picture of the W03 whilst sat on the front paddock stand you can see that at the bottom left and right corners of the chassis the paddock stand mounts into a pair of holes. Could this be a clever way of hiding the ducts that feed the front wing F duct?

No, simply the mounting points for the nose cone.

[bhall]

Could this be a clever way of hiding the ducts that feed the front wing F duct?

Wing mounts.

[bhall]

So it's impossible to say if they're tubes and that some of that CF will be removed when the actual nose is fitted or if they're part of the crash structure or simply covers or something else entirely.

I agree that it's impossible to be certain at this point, but I strongly believe the two tubes I've highlighted terminate at the bottom of the structure I marked with a red dot, which couples each to its counterpart in the nose.

[aduka11]

As i said long time ago....

There isnt any tube traveling trough car...

Air entering RW duct activates opening on the tip of the nose...which sucks the air and channels it to the front wing.

[bhall]

The line for the switch travels through the car.

I'm also not certain that the aperture on the tip of the nose has anything to do with this system. It might have been used during testing to somehow prove the concept, but that's all.

[beelsebob]

As i said long time ago....

There isnt any tube traveling trough car...

Air entering RW duct activates opening on the tip of the nose...which sucks the air and channels it to the front wing.

That certainly would be an illegal design, so I don't believe it. I would bet heavily on a fluidic switch rather than literally opening a duct.

[knabbel]

As i said long time ago....

There isnt any tube traveling trough car...

Air entering RW duct activates opening on the tip of the nose...which sucks the air and channels it to the front wing.

You still have to have a connection between the rear wing and the front, and it's illegal to do that electronicaly!

[beelsebob]

As i said long time ago....

There isnt any tube traveling trough car...

Air entering RW duct activates opening on the tip of the nose...which sucks the air and channels it to the front wing.

You still have to have a connection between the rear wing and the front, and it's illegal to do that electronicaly!

It would be illegal to do it in any way involving moving any part that isn't the DRS flap.

[bhall]

I think he just used the word activated a bit too loosely. He's got the right idea, though.

I still don't think the aperture on the nose tip plays any part. It would be more hassle than is necessary to connect it to the "DRS switch."

EDIT: It also just dawned on me that the RB8 "letterbox" is the same thing as the scoop on top of the Mercedes chassis.

[Coefficient]

Well, I'm guessing that the flat carbon panel is removed when the nose is fitted then and is only in place when the team are working on the car with the nose off.

[bhall]

Maybe. I tend to think it stays as a male connector to a female one in the nose.