2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[mzso]

Sam Collins mentions during the Weekend Warm Up for the Saudi GP that Mercedes already has a model in the wind tunnel for 2024.

But why wait for 2024? Bring it forward to 4-5 races from now. Then re-design, improve it as needed.
On track testing is worth more than any amount of wind tunnels and CFD anyway.
And I think manufacturing the parts is much the smaller part of the cost compared to development.

[AR3-GP]

Sam Collins mentions during the Weekend Warm Up for the Saudi GP that Mercedes already has a model in the wind tunnel for 2024.

But why wait for 2024? Bring it forward to 4-5 races from now. Then re-design, improve it as needed.
On track testing is worth more than any amount of wind tunnels and CFD anyway.
And I think manufacturing the parts is much the smaller part of the cost compared to development.

Bringing parts to full scale cost money.

[organic]

Wouldn't trust Collins info tbh

[Hammerfist]

Mercedes should ditch development of the current car and focus on bringing forward the W15 concept so that they can use this season as a testing session for next year’s car.

Sam Collins made a suggestion that they could potentially bring an early version of the W15 to the track as early as Silverstone.
Would be a bold move.

If they do that they better be 100 percent sure the new car is faster than the w14. It would be catastrophic if they bring this new car and they fall back even more.

For me its clear thy dont understand yet why the pace is missing. And I completely disagree with hamiltons latest comment that the w14 is similar to the w13. It is obviously not. The w14 seems to have shed downforce and porpoising for straight line speed and it doesnt have the good tire wear the old car had. So a completely fundamentally different car for me. If they dont understand why theyre slow there is no point throwing darts at the billboard and hoping that they somehow hit the target. That is an idiotic way to go about things.

[mzso]

Wouldn't trust Collins info tbh

It isn't even info. It's him hypothesizing.

[CHT]

I believe the W14 engine and design philosophy mirror those of the previous car of running the engine at high elevated temperature, which lead to their ability to run zero side pod design.

3.30

Obviously, this design philosophy is not working under the new regulation and switching to RBR side pod design could also mean compromising or neutralizing their engine design advantages. After spending so many years focusing on this design philosophy it may take some time for merc to switch direction.

I Guess Allison was right, but he didn't expect Merc to be one of the most affected
https://the-race.com/formula-1/some-tea ... -mercedes/

[AR3-GP]

https://the-race.com/formula-1/some-tea ... -mercedes/

the foreshadowing...

[GSBellew]

This reminds me of the early years, when they couldn't get the tyres to work, obviously there is more than just that.

[langedweil]

I believe the W14 engine and design philosophy mirror those of the previous car of running the engine at high elevated temperature, which lead to their ability to run zero side pod design.

3.30

Obviously, this design philosophy is not working under the new regulation and switching to RBR side pod design could also mean compromising or neutralizing their engine design advantages. After spending so many years focusing on this design philosophy it may take some time for merc to switch direction.

I Guess Allison was right, but he didn't expect Merc to be one of the most affected
https://the-race.com/formula-1/some-tea ... -mercedes/

Allison sees the new regulations set as an opportunity to prove that the team’s prodigious success since the start of the V6 turbo hybrid era in 2014 isn’t down to luck.

“We see it as an opportunity to show that we haven’t just been lucky over the years, we haven’t merely stumbled into a formula,” said Allison.

Well, that was indeed a proper prophecy he did not forsee to come smack him in the face. Just 14 months ago, right after 2021 .. and already the focus on 2024.

[Hoffman900]

I don’t believe Merc can change their concept and fully take advantage of it without changing the wishbone location / front suspension of the W14, which would likely require a new tub / crash test.

Look at the change of Aston Martin’s wishbone design / placement to be very similar to RedBull’s. The wishbone design is a significant player in making everything that comes after it work, and that would be one of the largest stumbling blocks in changing concepts as is.

Remember the front wing feeds into the front suspension wishbones which then redirect air to the floor and sidepod inlets. You can’t look at anything behind the front wheels without considering the flow through this area, the same way you can’t look at this area without looking at the front wing as well. Aero doesn’t work in isolation and everything that comes before effects any design feature.

[Jdn1327]

Interesting take from Vowels. Unless he still has a case of the Mercedes rhetoric in him

https://www.planetf1.com/news/james-vol ... es-mighty/

[pursue_one's]

Hamilton: " It's not as simple as that. If you put the Red Bull sidepod on our car, it would not change a thing. It literally won't change a thing. It would make the car go a bit slower. It's about aero characteristics, and how the car is balanced through the corners from the moment you go off the gas and hit the brake to the moment you start turning initially in mid-corner then medium speed to high speed the on power when the car squats."

https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/colunas/ ... ajosas.htm

[mkay]

Mercedes should ditch development of the current car and focus on bringing forward the W15 concept so that they can use this season as a testing session for next year’s car.

Sam Collins made a suggestion that they could potentially bring an early version of the W15 to the track as early as Silverstone.
Would be a bold move.

If they do that they better be 100 percent sure the new car is faster than the w14. It would be catastrophic if they bring this new car and they fall back even more.

Why? They would then get a lot more CFD/wind tunnel time for 2024, which is the same situation Aston is in at least until June 30th.

[GrizzleBoy]

Toto doing a long interview on sky right now saying that if Lauda was still there, he would be saying "he's very straight forward and he would say that our car looks very different to everyone else, let's change our car we have the tools and ability so let's get on with it".

Paraphrasing but it seems Toto agrees with this view from his tone.

[atanatizante]

There are some worrying questions to be asked:

1. Why the RB19 car could run like the W13 car as low as possible on the track and the W14 car couldn't do that? Coz it`ll break as Toto said, isn`t it? But the real question to be asked is whether they design this year's car not to run so low or just they don`t have a clue how the RB team is able to do that without porpoising/bouncing?

2. Elliot said that they`ve run in the CFD the RB concept car but unfortunately this solution wasn`t better than what they have now ...