Mercedes AMG F1 W04

[OO7]

As far as im aware, thats not Canada ? Also, isnt this "hole" debate about wether its a black stick on strip (like the ones run by other teams on the rims or hubs) or a hole in the rim. Im not saying that its one or the other, i just think as this is earlier in the season, maybe they only introduced the cavity in the heat of hungary ? so looking to the canadian or british GP's wouldnt show us anything. Also the slot it there to help with the over heating, so I doubt you would see any slot in this video as they are not dry tyres. So maybe wouldnt need it in there anyway.

I think it's quite unlikely that Mercedes have converted the strip to a cavity and had the inside of the wheel maintain the exact same look as before. If you see the British GP footage I think you would very likely change your mind. The inside of the wheel looks identical to the images posted previously, the only difference is that for a moment light is reflected off the strip which gives the game away.

[hollus]

I forced the contrast and brightness in powerpoint, please feel free to do a better job with a proper program.
The "thing" seems to reflect light to a small extent along it's whole width, exactly aligned with the quasi-specular reflection in the gray part of the wheel rim, but less sharp. To me that says is is a band of a black material.

[OO7]

The following is a screen capture of Nico's last pit stop from Silverstone. It is even more convincing when seen as video:

This is a 1.8Mb image:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3039/170s.png

[GrandAxe]

The following is a screen capture of Nico's last pit stop from Silverstone. It is even more convincing when seen as video:

This is a 1.8Mb image:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3039/170s.png

That is the front wheel. The argument is about the rears.

I forced the contrast and brightness in powerpoint, please feel free to do a better job with a proper program.
The "thing" seems to reflect light to a small extent along it's whole width, exactly aligned with the quasi-specular reflection in the gray part of the wheel rim, but less sharp. To me that says is is a band of a black material.

What I see is not "exactly aligned with the quasi-specular reflection in the gray part of the wheel rim," but at an offset in the direction of the tyre, which further reinforces the cavity argument. Considering the limited space there is to play with, any cavity would need to be quite shallow; a shallow cavity would give a reflection that's offset from the line of reflections on the inside of the rim..

Possibly, such a cavity might be filled with a foam or honeycomb made of a heat conducting material (eg graphene) that increases the area of contact between cooling air and the rim for efficiency; but that's pure speculation. However, such a filling would scatter light and lead to reflections that are diffuse (again, pure speculation).

The most important question is if such a cavity is legal.

[OO7]

The following is a screen capture of Nico's last pit stop from Silverstone. It is even more convincing when seen as video:

This is a 1.8Mb image:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3039/170s.png

That is the front wheel. The argument is about the rears.

No, that is a rear wheel. You can see the front wheel also in the shot, it has the orange Pirelli markings on the inside sidewall signifying that it is the hard tyre. The rear tyres are not marked on the inside sidewalls. The screen capture is from the video and I am 100% certain it is a rear tyre as I've just witnessed the left rear mechanic place that wheel on the car's left rear axle.

[Dreameagl]

Actually the tire in the foreground is the rear tire. You can see the front wheel peeking out just behind the in the center.
Could it be that it is both? An empty space that will dissipate heat and it can be filled in with a strip of black plastic or similar to stop the flow of air and raise the temperature and adjust for the changing track temperatures?

[smlbstcbr]

I could not find if a wheel design can be changed during the season, though I think I've read somewhere (Scarbs?) that the rim design must remain the same for the entire season after they banned the aero rims. Can anyone put some light on this???

[SectorOne]

Good point, If i remember correctly, previously rims did not have to be homologated but after Ferrari introduced the rims with an aero attachment (not 2009 madness) they decided to make a rule saying wheels had to be homologated.

Someone with better memory probably knows the full story.

[turbof1]

Good point, If i remember correctly, previously rims did not have to be homologated but after Ferrari introduced the rims with an aero attachment (not 2009 madness) they decided to make a rule saying wheels had to be homologated.

Someone with better memory probably knows the full story.

It was before Ferrari introduced it. For 2010, the wheels got homologated. During winter testing that year, Ferrari came up with their aero attachments to the wheels:
http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2010/0/724.html

[dren]

My guess is that the details of the FRIC system are so unconventional that they cannot employ the same cooling techniques available to other teams and so have continued to suffer for a few seasons now.

I would say this probably plays a role. The team has had tire issues for as long as I can remember. They also had them later in the 2009 Championship winning season. I'd guess most of it boiled down to relatively poor tire modeling and monitoring. If they gained something from the private test, I'd say it was the front sensor. Once you can model correctly what you expect, then monitor it accurately, you can then analyse and implement design changes. I don't think the team was/is lacking in the design area.

[GrandAxe]

These are the technical regulations governing the wheels.

Wheels and tyres

Published with permission from the Federation Internationale de l' Automobile.

ARTICLE 12: WHEELS AND TYRES
12.1 Location:
Wheels must be external to the bodywork in plan view, with the rear aerodynamic device removed.
12.2 Number of wheels:
The number of wheels is fixed at four.
12.3 Wheel material:
All wheels must be made from an homogeneous metallic material.
12.4 Wheel dimensions:
12.4.1 Complete wheel width must lie between 305 and 355mm when fitted to the front of the car and between 365 and 380mm when fitted to the rear.
12.4.2 Complete wheel diameter must not exceed 660mm when fitted with dry-weather tyres or 670mm when fitted with wet-weather tyres.
12.4.3 Complete wheel width and diameter will be measured horizontally at axle height, with the wheel held in a vertical position and when fitted with new tyres inflated to 1.4 bar.
12.4.4 Wheel bead diameter must lie between 328 and 332mm.

Courtesy http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules ... 7/fia.html

12.3 makes certain that attaching any form of strip made of other material to the rim is illegal. So, we can safely rule out the strip explanation, because Mercedes wouldn't break the rules so visibly.

[GrandAxe]

My guess is that the details of the FRIC system are so unconventional that they cannot employ the same cooling techniques available to other teams and so have continued to suffer for a few seasons now.

I would say this probably plays a role. The team has had tire issues for as long as I can remember. They also had them later in the 2009 Championship winning season. I'd guess most of it boiled down to relatively poor tire modeling and monitoring. If they gained something from the private test, I'd say it was the front sensor. Once you can model correctly what you expect, then monitor it accurately, you can then analyse and implement design changes. I don't think the team was/is lacking in the design area.

You could be right, especially considering the need to run the sensors at every practice these days. Do you know if they are run in the race as well?

[mantikos]

My guess is that the details of the FRIC system are so unconventional that they cannot employ the same cooling techniques available to other teams and so have continued to suffer for a few seasons now.

I would say this probably plays a role. The team has had tire issues for as long as I can remember. They also had them later in the 2009 Championship winning season. I'd guess most of it boiled down to relatively poor tire modeling and monitoring. If they gained something from the private test, I'd say it was the front sensor. Once you can model correctly what you expect, then monitor it accurately, you can then analyse and implement design changes. I don't think the team was/is lacking in the design area.

You could be right, especially considering the need to run the sensors at every practice these days. Do you know if they are run in the race as well?

Merc runs front IR sensors during the race as well. They probably run rear ones as well (since that's where their problem is allegedly) but we wouldn't know since they are mounted into the floor.

[Holm86]

These are the technical regulations governing the wheels.

Wheels and tyres

Published with permission from the Federation Internationale de l' Automobile.

ARTICLE 12: WHEELS AND TYRES
12.1 Location:
Wheels must be external to the bodywork in plan view, with the rear aerodynamic device removed.
12.2 Number of wheels:
The number of wheels is fixed at four.
12.3 Wheel material:
All wheels must be made from an homogeneous metallic material.
12.4 Wheel dimensions:
12.4.1 Complete wheel width must lie between 305 and 355mm when fitted to the front of the car and between 365 and 380mm when fitted to the rear.
12.4.2 Complete wheel diameter must not exceed 660mm when fitted with dry-weather tyres or 670mm when fitted with wet-weather tyres.
12.4.3 Complete wheel width and diameter will be measured horizontally at axle height, with the wheel held in a vertical position and when fitted with new tyres inflated to 1.4 bar.
12.4.4 Wheel bead diameter must lie between 328 and 332mm.

Courtesy http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules ... 7/fia.html

12.3 makes certain that attaching any form of strip made of other material to the rim is illegal. So, we can safely rule out the strip explanation, because Mercedes wouldn't break the rules so visibly.

That depends on how you define the wheel. If it is a removable part then its not a part of the wheel. I do believe it is a strip of some sort of material. Acting as a heatsink to help the heat spread more evenly on the surface of the tires.

[SectorOne]

Good point, If i remember correctly, previously rims did not have to be homologated but after Ferrari introduced the rims with an aero attachment (not 2009 madness) they decided to make a rule saying wheels had to be homologated.

Someone with better memory probably knows the full story.

It was before Ferrari introduced it. For 2010, the wheels got homologated. During winter testing that year, Ferrari came up with their aero attachments to the wheels:
http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2010/0/724.html

Thanks for clearing it up!