Mercedes W14 Speculation Thread

[jordanb]

Because they stated they knew where they went wrong. They identified the exact decision that took them on the wrong path accoring to their own words.

Not knowing how to fix your chosen path does not automatically mean it will change your mind about reverting back to that decision and working from there.

But who knows...just speculation...

It was in October that Elliott made that revelation. It wasn't early in the season which would have given them clear direction for their next design. They spent most part of the season trying to understand the problem in the design. That effort put in discovery of the root of the problem wouldn't have allowed them to move onto a new design early in the season.

As I said, the time they reported it might deviate from the time they knew.

Why would they passionately initiate/support a TD if they do not know how it will pan out for the W14?
I think one can safely assume talks were well on their way before we knew a TD was considered and this was well before the summer break.

But I'll stop speculating

Mercedes did not initiate TD, it was FIA that found out some teams exploiting floor flex. Mercedes wanted raised ride height for everyone as W13 was suffering from porpoising when they run with lowest ride heights, hoping it would hurt the others too. In Spa when everyone had to raise the ride height to avoid bumping on Eau Rogue, it was Redbull that dominated the field. So, rising the ride height or the raising the floor edges as per the rules in 2023, might help Redbull more than anyone else. Not sure if that's a good thing for W14 as Mercedes does not have a great deal of experience running higher ride heights.

[Henk_v]

Sorry for the confusion. You are right. I messed u my brain.

I wrote TD, but got it wrong. I meant the '23 rule change increasing floor edge and diffuser throat height.

[holeindalip]

It was in October that Elliott made that revelation. It wasn't early in the season which would have given them clear direction for their next design. They spent most part of the season trying to understand the problem in the design. That effort put in discovery of the root of the problem wouldn't have allowed them to move onto a new design early in the season.

As I said, the time they reported it might deviate from the time they knew.

Why would they passionately initiate/support a TD if they do not know how it will pan out for the W14?
I think one can safely assume talks were well on their way before we knew a TD was considered and this was well before the summer break.

But I'll stop speculating

Mercedes did not initiate TD, it was FIA that found out some teams exploiting floor flex. Mercedes wanted raised ride height for everyone as W13 was suffering from porpoising when they run with lowest ride heights, hoping it would hurt the others too. In Spa when everyone had to raise the ride height to avoid bumping on Eau Rogue, it was Redbull that dominated the field. So, rising the ride height or the raising the floor edges as per the rules in 2023, might help Redbull more than anyone else. Not sure if that's a good thing for W14 as Mercedes does not have a great deal of experience running higher ride heights.

Their low running or ride height won’t change, just the floor edges in relation to the reference plane. Also Merc wanted the floor edges to be raised as they said over the entire development period over these regs they would find 40% more df compared to where they started so porpoising would be an issue going forward for everyone…

[AR3-GP]

As I said, the time they reported it might deviate from the time they knew.

Why would they passionately initiate/support a TD if they do not know how it will pan out for the W14?
I think one can safely assume talks were well on their way before we knew a TD was considered and this was well before the summer break.

But I'll stop speculating

Mercedes did not initiate TD, it was FIA that found out some teams exploiting floor flex. Mercedes wanted raised ride height for everyone as W13 was suffering from porpoising when they run with lowest ride heights, hoping it would hurt the others too. In Spa when everyone had to raise the ride height to avoid bumping on Eau Rogue, it was Redbull that dominated the field. So, rising the ride height or the raising the floor edges as per the rules in 2023, might help Redbull more than anyone else. Not sure if that's a good thing for W14 as Mercedes does not have a great deal of experience running higher ride heights.

Their low running or ride height won’t change, just the floor edges in relation to the reference plane. Also Merc wanted the floor edges to be raised as they said over the entire development period over these regs they would find 40% more df compared to where they started so porpoising would be an issue going forward for everyone…

Will they have to raise the floor edges again for 2024?

[chrisc90]

Mercedes did not initiate TD, it was FIA that found out some teams exploiting floor flex. Mercedes wanted raised ride height for everyone as W13 was suffering from porpoising when they run with lowest ride heights, hoping it would hurt the others too. In Spa when everyone had to raise the ride height to avoid bumping on Eau Rogue, it was Redbull that dominated the field. So, rising the ride height or the raising the floor edges as per the rules in 2023, might help Redbull more than anyone else. Not sure if that's a good thing for W14 as Mercedes does not have a great deal of experience running higher ride heights.

Their low running or ride height won’t change, just the floor edges in relation to the reference plane. Also Merc wanted the floor edges to be raised as they said over the entire development period over these regs they would find 40% more df compared to where they started so porpoising would be an issue going forward for everyone…

Will they have to raise the floor edges again for 2024?

There's nothing wrong with the current regulations regarding floor regs/height. The porpoising is easily sorted by raising the car up (at the expense of downforce) or making a car that doesnt porpoise - just like the RB18.

Now teams have some stupid metrics to adhere to for 'safety reasons', and if they cant get close due to the track being bumpy, the safety restrictions get thrown out the window. A bit comical really.

[Henk_v]

Any sane developer would have pursued RB18 like behaviour in their concept for the 23 car. Porpoising is not fast.

The reg change more or less forces teams to develop a New chassis/tub, meaning that no team can carry over a well performing one and commit resources to improvement.

Teams that realized they needed to change the chassis/tub for 23 to get to that performance window are well served by the reg change, preventing well performing teams to extend their lead.

It is about re-rolling the dice.

[f1jcw]

I didn’t think the change was that big

[Henk_v]

As far as I've read reports (which are probably biassed if teams are against the reg change), the venom is in the higher venturi throat. This is right where all the gearbox and suspension bits are. Lower airspeed in the throat means they can have even more agressive diffuser expansion after it. Some floors / diffusers already had indentations to allow for whishbone travel or drive axles. Raising the throat seems to have some large implications for at least some teams. But maybe they just exaggerated.

[Spoutnik]

[Henri]

Scrabs thinks the new sidepods look lile this

[BlueCheetah66]

Scrabs thinks the new sidepods look lile this

Realistically a mix of the two would just be the Williams sidepods from the start of the year

[scarbs]

Scrabs thinks the new sidepods look lile this

No he doesn't ....

[GrizzleBoy]

I remember the last time Scarbs released a drawing of the W13 during testing that everyone thought was a joke.

[Big Tea]

I remember the last time Scarbs released a drawing of the W13 during testing that everyone thought was a joke.

But I dont think he personally denied that one

[AR3-GP]

Scrabs thinks the new sidepods look lile this

Realistically a mix of the two would just be the Williams sidepods from the start of the year

That's what I said!