Mercedes W13

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PlatinumZealot
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Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 03:45

Re: Mercedes W13

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Something else got me thinking.
Sauber has made their own rear gearbox, but are the suspension components theirs or Ferraris? Hard to believe a Sauber suspension is more advanced than a Mercedes one? Just pondering how much weight must be put to suspension as the root cause.
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matteosc
matteosc
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Joined: 11 Sep 2012, 17:07

Re: Mercedes W13

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Interesting video, hinting at what said before in the thread.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s14kQ4f5gA
I still think the problem is not all suspension, but it looks like it is no "simply" underfloor stalling.

SirBastianVettel
SirBastianVettel
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Joined: 28 Jun 2020, 10:54

Re: Mercedes W13

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PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 19:27
Something else got me thinking.
Sauber has made their own rear gearbox, but are the suspension components theirs or Ferraris? Hard to believe a Sauber suspension is more advanced than a Mercedes one? Just pondering how much weight must be put to suspension as the root cause.
In the SA Tech Talk episode on F1TV there was an interview with Jan Monchaux from Sauber and they said they don't use the Ferrari rear suspension.

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NicoS
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Joined: 11 Feb 2022, 17:21

Re: Mercedes W13

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how easy would it be for MercedesAMG to copy Ferrari or RB aero solution?

dialtone
dialtone
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Re: Mercedes W13

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NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:11
how easy would it be for MercedesAMG to copy Ferrari or RB aero solution?
It's not about how easy it is, it's about how much it will cost, in a budget cap. Once they copy they kind of set themselves behind a bit since they need to start learning the new concept and develop it going forward while they already spent all of the money on the existing.

Obviously if their concept is just bad, copying is the better way, at least to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, but probably they don't know yet and still believe in what they've done.

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NicoS
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Re: Mercedes W13

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dialtone wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:16
NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:11
how easy would it be for MercedesAMG to copy Ferrari or RB aero solution?
It's not about how easy it is, it's about how much it will cost, in a budget cap. Once they copy they kind of set themselves behind a bit since they need to start learning the new concept and develop it going forward while they already spent all of the money on the existing.

Obviously if their concept is just bad, copying is the better way, at least to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, but probably they don't know yet and still believe in what they've done.
how long would be feasible to continue with this package before they consider copying another solution.
Do you think mid season would be a good time to re-focus on a new approach?

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carisi2k
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Joined: 15 Oct 2014, 23:26

Re: Mercedes W13

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I think Mercedes need to drop the zero pod and bring back the solution they had at Barcelona if they want to be faster. It looked like it was a faster solution as it seems to be able to do something that the zero pod isn't able to. Even the other small sidepod solution is struggling in the Williams although the power unit might also be causing Mercedes teams to struggle as well. I'm enjoying watching Mercedes struggle and especially seeing Bottas doing well in the Alfa.

algebraist
algebraist
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Joined: 16 Sep 2018, 23:08

Re: Mercedes W13

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NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:24
dialtone wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:16
NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:11
how easy would it be for MercedesAMG to copy Ferrari or RB aero solution?
It's not about how easy it is, it's about how much it will cost, in a budget cap. Once they copy they kind of set themselves behind a bit since they need to start learning the new concept and develop it going forward while they already spent all of the money on the existing.

Obviously if their concept is just bad, copying is the better way, at least to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, but probably they don't know yet and still believe in what they've done.
how long would be feasible to continue with this package before they consider copying another solution.
Do you think mid season would be a good time to re-focus on a new approach?
Oh FFS get the idea of copying other people's work out of your head. Aston Martin tried that the other year and look how well it worked out for them. It's not enough to simply copy, you must also understand wtf it's doing and behaving as well.

You're also talking about repackaging the entire innards of the car as well. It's a totally impractical idea especially in these years of cost capping and cutting. Whether you like it or not, this is what they're running this year and likely next. Once they sort out the floor / suspension issue, the rest will follow.

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vorticism
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Joined: 01 Mar 2022, 20:20

Re: Mercedes W13

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Why did they test two types of sidepod? Just to have something to compare against?
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mkay
mkay
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Joined: 21 May 2010, 21:30

Re: Mercedes W13

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algebraist wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 21:21
NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:24
dialtone wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:16


It's not about how easy it is, it's about how much it will cost, in a budget cap. Once they copy they kind of set themselves behind a bit since they need to start learning the new concept and develop it going forward while they already spent all of the money on the existing.

Obviously if their concept is just bad, copying is the better way, at least to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, but probably they don't know yet and still believe in what they've done.
how long would be feasible to continue with this package before they consider copying another solution.
Do you think mid season would be a good time to re-focus on a new approach?
Oh FFS get the idea of copying other people's work out of your head. Aston Martin tried that the other year and look how well it worked out for them. It's not enough to simply copy, you must also understand wtf it's doing and behaving as well.

You're also talking about repackaging the entire innards of the car as well. It's a totally impractical idea especially in these years of cost capping and cutting. Whether you like it or not, this is what they're running this year and likely next. Once they sort out the floor / suspension issue, the rest will follow.
They don't need to repackage the innards given they've got the tightest innards already; they can simply design bodywork around the existing innards.

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

Re: Mercedes W13

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vorticism wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 21:22
Why did they test two types of sidepod? Just to have something to compare against?
In Barcelona they ran an early revision of the w13 that was most likely finalized last year, maybe even before the season was over. What they ran in Bahrain was a later revision, most likely finished as late as possible.
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AR3-GP
AR3-GP
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Joined: 06 Jul 2021, 01:22

Re: Mercedes W13

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mkay wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 21:51
algebraist wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 21:21
NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:24


how long would be feasible to continue with this package before they consider copying another solution.
Do you think mid season would be a good time to re-focus on a new approach?
Oh FFS get the idea of copying other people's work out of your head. Aston Martin tried that the other year and look how well it worked out for them. It's not enough to simply copy, you must also understand wtf it's doing and behaving as well.

You're also talking about repackaging the entire innards of the car as well. It's a totally impractical idea especially in these years of cost capping and cutting. Whether you like it or not, this is what they're running this year and likely next. Once they sort out the floor / suspension issue, the rest will follow.
They don't need to repackage the innards given they've got the tightest innards already; they can simply design bodywork around the existing innards.
But it would still be an unoptimized package because they'll have an unnecessarily high CoG.

algebraist
algebraist
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Joined: 16 Sep 2018, 23:08

Re: Mercedes W13

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Precisely this. Copying a car is more than just the shell.

Aesop
Aesop
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Joined: 08 Jul 2019, 19:30

Re: Mercedes W13

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NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:24
dialtone wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:16
NicoS wrote: ↑
29 Mar 2022, 20:11
how easy would it be for MercedesAMG to copy Ferrari or RB aero solution?
It's not about how easy it is, it's about how much it will cost, in a budget cap. Once they copy they kind of set themselves behind a bit since they need to start learning the new concept and develop it going forward while they already spent all of the money on the existing.

Obviously if their concept is just bad, copying is the better way, at least to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, but probably they don't know yet and still believe in what they've done.
how long would be feasible to continue with this package before they consider copying another solution.
Do you think mid season would be a good time to re-focus on a new approach?
As long as Mercedes believes their concept has more potential than others and think they can solve the issues they will continue developing. There comes a time Mercedes will acknowledge this season is lost, but as long as they feel they will reap the benefits next year there is no incentive to think of other concepts.

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godlameroso
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Joined: 16 Jan 2010, 21:27
Location: Miami FL

Re: Mercedes W13

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The big diffuser and edge wing like on the Mercedes with no sidepods to share the load, means the floor has more load to take than something like a Ferrari, or Alpine. That means the floor is more prone to deformation and flexing. More deformation and flexing means more vortex shedding unless you make the floor stronger. If you make it stronger then it's also heavier.
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