mzso wrote: ↑05 Apr 2023, 16:33
Also, since their concept is based on compactness they should be able to copy any other sidepod concept if they want to. It's just adding material. They pretty much said this last year.
Exactly, for Mercedes to go RB/Ferrari/AM style is far less difficult than vice versa. Williams could do it with a far bulkier set up than Mercedes, as depicted in these photos:
Original vs Update
For me though, the intriguing thing about the Williams update was it allowed them to open up the front of the floor slightly. It's clearly still the same floor but the aperture looks more linear and the fences appear less angled.
It's not difficult to see that Mercedes have far more real estate to play with in this area relative to the far bulkier Williams of '22 should they decide to go down this route. As depicted by racing news.
Which leads to the direct comparison of the front floor from AM and the Merc. Ringo pointed to this in the W14 thread.
The Mercedes has a smaller aperture and the vanes appear more aggressively set, which may translate into more drag to get the desired vortices relative the AM.
Whichever route they do decide to go down though, from all these photos it's clear that others have done so with more restrictive concepts. It's entirely possible we might just see an evolved zeropod design. Who knows, but I'm willing to bet they crank open that front floor section a bit more with less aggro vanes.
