michl420 wrote: ↑11 Feb 2022, 12:53
For me it is impossible that they need this big sidepods for cooling (they can accommodate three times as many coolers as last year). One must also assume that the cooler ends at the beginning of the engine, so the rear third is empty. And the louvres for the air are no reasons because they would be even longer/bigger if they were diagonal. The simplest explanation is that they are only there to manage the airflow that goes over and under them. But I read somewhere that the cooler can't be pushed that much inside the fuel cell this year.
Maybe they ditched the centerline cooling layout and moved it to the back of the sidepods... because the engine cover behind the engine looks much more skinny there.
(So maybe the roll-hoops lateral ducts dont run towards the back of the car anymore, but descend earlier towards the sidepods, like a 2014-2018 STR)
Merc and AM 2021 (motorsport.com - F1i magazine)