This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
The concept of the Mercedes leaves a lot of free space on the underbody. Was that part of the problem?
Elliott: Not really. It made us more headaches that we can get the ground stiff enough and that it does not bend too hard at high speeds. But we have now solved this.
In the wind tunnel, the Mercedes was the fastest car. This has not been confirmed on the track. Do you still trust your tools?
Elliott: The wind tunnel gave us the right answers where we can find lap time. What we couldn't do was how we use the downforce and how it works with the rest of the car.
Most of the lap time is generated under the car. Does the shape of the side boxes matter?
Elliott: By far the most important part of the car is the profile on the bottom. The front wing determines how the output is distributed over the car. The disguise has a similar meaning. Even if our car looks completely different from the outside, its shape has nothing to do with our problems. As a former aerodynamicist, you first look at how your aerodynamics should work. What the flow field should look like to get what I want. It is never about a part of the car visible from the outside.
What were the other hidden problems?
Elliott: If I betray them now, then the competition would know too well about the solutions we have found. The simplest answer is: The car we have made available to our drivers is not the car we wanted. The drivers reported that it is difficult to drive. And we now know why.
How many of the problems that occurred at the beginning of the season were solved in the end?
Elliott: That's hard to answer. At the beginning of the season, we had to deal with aerodynamically generated bouncing, like everyone else. This has covered the real problems of the car. With our upgrade in Barcelona, we got rid of most of the aero bouncing. The bouncing, which was still there in the end, was triggered by ground waves. This is innate to these cars, which are just above the road.
At first, we couldn't explain why it always looked different from route to route. Later, our predictions became more accurate. Our simulations gave us a fairly precise statement about which route is good or bad for us. We now also have a good theory of what we have to do so that next season doesn't happen to us again. This gives us confidence over the winter. But unfortunately you never know everything in Formula 1.
Mercedes started in 2022 with an unusual car. Were you surprised that you were the only ones who chose this concept?
Elliott: Not really. We were surprised that no one else found this loophole. If you have gone this way, it is very difficult to copy something else.
To what extent did this concept contribute to the problems you had to deal with later?
Elliott: We only have a partial view of things. We only see what our car does. It is difficult to judge how the other concepts react. We have tried to understand the problems and get into a position to predict the performance fluctuations from route to route. It has nothing to do with the shape of the side boxes, but more with how we designed the car and what goals we had set ourselves.
Picking up on the discussion of letting GR be #1.
I think he will get the #1 camera post which he did have last year, but mercedes is not a team to prioritize any driver at the start of the season.
And even if GR #1 role is more of a leader and guide in terms of direction and feedback, he is not experienced enough in the team to do that.
Also we have seen him lose his bearings when things get stressful.
All the same, i dont think LH has an issue with being the second driver, he will only get more motivated.
Picking up on the discussion of letting GR be #1.
I think he will get the #1 camera post which he did have last year, but mercedes is not a team to prioritize any driver at the start of the season.
And even if GR #1 role is more of a leader and guide in terms of direction and feedback, he is not experienced enough in the team to do that.
Also we have seen him lose his bearings when things get stressful.
All the same, i dont think LH has an issue with being the second driver, he will only get more motivated.
What do you mean by second driver?
I can't see Hamilton doing the whole domestique routine if it boils down to that.
My own opinion is that their speed being so close will lead to significant issues and firm team orders if the car is competitive. They will be sniping points off each other while Max and or Charles are clearly leading for their respective teams and maximizing their point totals.
Drivers skills degrade over time and while Russell isn't the all around driver that Hamilton was a few years ago, he is absolutely competitive and will give no quarter. He seems particularly egotistical. Could be a recipe for disaster
Considering the fact that Lewis is slow to get on pace early in the season, which has been his trait, George stands good chance to do one up again in the second year at Mercedes and with his much more insightful involvement in the preseason factory work with a full year's worth of experience with team, car and overall involvement, he might be a bit more sharper this time around. It remains to be seen how much advantage George can carve out early season.
Picking up on the discussion of letting GR be #1.
I think he will get the #1 camera post which he did have last year, but mercedes is not a team to prioritize any driver at the start of the season.
And even if GR #1 role is more of a leader and guide in terms of direction and feedback, he is not experienced enough in the team to do that.
Also we have seen him lose his bearings when things get stressful.
All the same, i dont think LH has an issue with being the second driver, he will only get more motivated.
I thought this was Lewis' choice because he wanted the colour? Pretty sure there were reports about it.
Picking up on the discussion of letting GR be #1.
I think he will get the #1 camera post which he did have last year, but mercedes is not a team to prioritize any driver at the start of the season.
And even if GR #1 role is more of a leader and guide in terms of direction and feedback, he is not experienced enough in the team to do that.
Also we have seen him lose his bearings when things get stressful.
All the same, i dont think LH has an issue with being the second driver, he will only get more motivated.
I thought this was Lewis' choice because he wanted the colour? Pretty sure there were reports about it.
So all these years he used a black t-cam, but suddenly for 2022 he wanted the "color"?
I rather think the real answer is more complex, but I'll leave it at that.
Picking up on the discussion of letting GR be #1.
I think he will get the #1 camera post which he did have last year, but mercedes is not a team to prioritize any driver at the start of the season.
And even if GR #1 role is more of a leader and guide in terms of direction and feedback, he is not experienced enough in the team to do that.
Also we have seen him lose his bearings when things get stressful.
All the same, i dont think LH has an issue with being the second driver, he will only get more motivated.
I thought this was Lewis' choice because he wanted the colour? Pretty sure there were reports about it.
So all these years he used a black t-cam, but suddenly for 2022 he wanted the "color"?
I rather think the real answer is more complex, but I'll leave it at that.
I think the most insightful thought I read here (and I can’t remember where I read it to give proper credit due) about the driver situation brewing at Merc, was that George still has time to find in his craft (obviously), but Lewis does not.
So it will be extremely interesting to find out what happens if George indeed finds another quarter second in quali and race pace this year, because the potential is there. Lewis isn’t going to find a quarter second of craft. He’s using it to the max to keep pace. It really is an interesting situation coming about at Merc...heh heh heh.
It won't be so interesting if Mercedes remains the third force in F1, so.... It would be better if they catch up with the top
Kukułka zwyczajna, kukułka pospolita – nazwy ludowe: gżegżółka, zazula (Cuculus canorus) – gatunek średniego ptaka wędrownego z podrodziny kukułek (Cuculinae) w rodzinie kukułkowatych (Cuculidae). Jedyny w Europie Środkowej pasożyt lęgowy. Zamieszkuje strefę umiarkowaną.
