Mercedes AMG F1 W03

[george1981]

Ross Brawn said that the tyres were outside of the ideal working temperature due to the environmental conditions. Could it be that Merc miscalculated the optimal tyre pressure for the race, rather than the car itself being at fault? This (along with the fancy DRS/F duct) would explain the huge difference in performance between quali and race.

If it was tyre pressures then they could have adjusted that for the first stop for Rosberg, maybe they went the wrong way with the tyre pressure. Rosberg's pace and degredation on the hard tyres for the final stint seemed to be a lot worse than the drivers around him.

[Ferraripilot]

Ross Brawn said that the tyres were outside of the ideal working temperature due to the environmental conditions. Could it be that Merc miscalculated the optimal tyre pressure for the race, rather than the car itself being at fault? This (along with the fancy DRS/F duct) would explain the huge difference in performance between quali and race.

If it was tyre pressures then they could have adjusted that for the first stop for Rosberg, maybe they went the wrong way with the tyre pressure. Rosberg's pace and degredation on the hard tyres for the final stint seemed to be a lot worse than the drivers around him.

Again, the degredation of W03 is no different than the other cars. Look at the lap by lap comparisons with other cars. This is absolutely not a degredation issue, but rather the issue is them getting the most out of the tires by having them operate in the correct heat range which they clearly did not maintain at any time during the race except qualifying.

Tire pressure will not solve it. I believe a slight geometry change is the answer, or Malaysia's ambient and track temps will simply correct the issue on its own.

[kalinka]

What suspension changes they have to implement exactly ? Does it mean a serious amount of moving suspension connections, or it's enough to redesign some of the elements? Generally, what you have to do with suspension if you want less tyre degradation ? Is it possible for them to solve it before they return to europe? I know it's all question marks, but nobody talks about the actual changes they have to do. I can't even guess, so suspension experts please...

[Th0R]

The problem is that we can expect the about same track temperatures at quite a lot races, so there needs to be a update fixing this issue.

[Dragonfly]

You cause turbulence and still loss drag? Didnt the original F-Duct remove the vortices created when the 3 air pressures meet on the wing ? And by removing them removing turbulence and drag, not created turbulence.

I remember back in 2010 this was discussed and actually turbulence caused decrease in drag. A kind of phenomena but proven by aerodynamic research.
Have to find this tread if still active.

[Th0R]

You cause turbulence and still loss drag? Didnt the original F-Duct remove the vortices created when the 3 air pressures meet on the wing ? And by removing them removing turbulence and drag, not created turbulence.

I remember back in 2010 this was discussed and actually turbulence caused decrease in drag. A kind of phenomena but proven by aerodynamic research.
Have to find this tread if still active.

Okay in this pdf http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=w ... nw&cad=rja

there is a simple example (table on page 4)(i'm afraid it's in german, but the images and cw- values should be enough to understand). Because the flow is turbulent there is more energy inside the boundary layer, which means it can stay attached a bit longer, which leads to a smaller wake and there a smaller cw-value. I am not sure how this can be applied to the complex geometry of the front wing, but it shows, that this is possible.

[elf341]

Very interesting video. So...special/blown front wing,[...]

This is the kind of thing that really goes the extra mile. We saw a similar behaviour with Vettel last year when he smashed in that new front wing. Whereas, we've seem some drivers who just don't "get it", and just wander off not thinking at a second thought about intellectual property leakage.

I think it's a real sign of understanding how the team effort comes together to achieve success.

[Morteza]

Formula1.com analysis of Mercedes' F-duct rear wing:
http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/ ... 4/945.html

[snoop1050]

You cause turbulence and still loss drag? Didnt the original F-Duct remove the vortices created when the 3 air pressures meet on the wing ? And by removing them removing turbulence and drag, not created turbulence.

I remember back in 2010 this was discussed and actually turbulence caused decrease in drag. A kind of phenomena but proven by aerodynamic research.
Have to find this tread if still active.

the golf ball dimples?

[siskue2005]

You cause turbulence and still loss drag? Didnt the original F-Duct remove the vortices created when the 3 air pressures meet on the wing ? And by removing them removing turbulence and drag, not created turbulence.

I remember back in 2010 this was discussed and actually turbulence caused decrease in drag. A kind of phenomena but proven by aerodynamic research.
Have to find this tread if still active.

the golf ball dimples?

That only works for round objects

[beelsebob]

the golf ball dimples?

That only works for round objects

Sure, but it's a proof all the same. The assertion was that there exist cases where adding turbulence causes reduced drag. There's an existing case. There are some others for F1 cars I believe – this was the whole concept of the f-duct – cause early separation and turbulence on the rear wing and you got reduced drag.

[siskue2005]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmB4bJeoBG4[/youtube]
Schumachers's Q2 lap?

anyway just noticed in the video that he switched off the DRS a good 50 meters before the braking point!
why is this happening?
He doesnt have any problem activating it way early and switches it off rather prematurely
Is it because of their new system, which needs more time to reattach air flow?
Is this why he spun off?

or are they just hiding their topspeed?

[raymondu999]

Maybe their system is slow at shedding drag and regaining downforce - that would explain both the early activation and early deactivation.

[aduka11]

On the video someone posted in General chat...when Michael went out of the track on FP3...i think that was the consequence of shutting DRS down late than he should have... obviously has something to do with f-duct.


EDIT: I think thats Q3..since he made a small mistake in last corner which costed him P2..

[ArchAngel]

Twitter BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson in Melbourne
"That's a fascinating remark from Michael Schumacher. Team radio has just broadcasted him saying that the initial pick-up of his DRS overtaking aid is 'too aggressive'.

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson
"What Michael is trying to say when he talks about an aggressive rear wing is that when you open the [DRS] flap the airflow separates and there's a big drag reduction. When he closes the flap, the airflow wasn't re-attaching as consistently as it should. It looks like the rear wheels locked suddenly, which could be the tyres going away on the long run, or it could be the airflow not re-attaching in time."