2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[PlatinumZealot]

He also notes that the side pod and engine cover is not where the big performance is found. Pretty much the same drum I beat.

[mendis]

I guess it's the Mercury suspension.
It's strange that it's not side pod, but then there is a new side pod.

[chrisc90]

I guess it's the Mercury suspension.
It's strange that it's not side pod, but then there is a new side pod.

It must only be the floor fence or rear wing then if its not the sidepods.

Given these were the ones stated at Monaco..

Mercedes explains the six upgrades on its W14 F1 car
Mercedes has explained in detail the scale of the upgrades that it has brought to Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix.

Jonathan Noble
May 26, 2023, 12:11 PM

Front suspension: The top wishbone forward leg inboard pick-up has been lifted. This change results in improved positioning of wishbone wake, which in turn improves onset flow into the sidepod, therefore improving cooling performance.

Floor Fences: There has been a local load change in fence camber, which results in an increased local load and improved flow to the diffuser. This should deliver more rear downforce.

Sidepod inlet: A wide and high sidepod inlet helps improve flow to the floor edge, which results in more floor load and also improved flow to the rear corner.

Sidepods and bodywork: The increased bodywork width increases local downforce and also improves the flow to the rear wing assembly and rear corner.

Rear wing: The increased camber of the rear wing flap results in increased rear wing load, which in turn drops the pressure behind the car - thereby increasing rear floor load.

Rear brake duct winglets: A second cascade of cake-tin winglets added to the additional winglet array adds local winglet load. This also drops the pressure behind the lower suspension legs, increasing load on these too.

[balex]

Allison explained all this (@1m30s): Front & rear brake ducts, suspension and underneath the floor - "that's where the main action is".

Also, quote (@1m45s): "The sidepod change, I'm not saying it's nothing, but is mostly so we don't die wondering, rather than because it brings a load of raw lap time".

They eliminated a variable, the most basic troubleshooting method. The upshot of this is that if they develop a better understanding of their car and concept as a result, there's not necessarily any reason that the zero-pod couldn't make a return in the future.

I get the impression that they just tried to do too many things at once with the new regulations, and overestimated their ability to understand all these changes (from suspension to aero) as a whole, versus understanding them in isolation. Perhaps not so unusual in (over)ambitious engineering teams. This is really more of a leadership issue than a technical one, that better explains Allison's return in the first place.

[101FlyingDutchman]

Allison explained all this (@1m30s): Front & rear brake ducts, suspension and underneath the floor - "that's where the main action is".

Also, quote (@1m45s): "The sidepod change, I'm not saying it's nothing, but is mostly so we don't die wondering, rather than because it brings a load of raw lap time".

They eliminated a variable, the most basic troubleshooting method. The upshot of this is that if they develop a better understanding of their car and concept as a result, there's not necessarily any reason that the zero-pod couldn't make a return in the future.

I get the impression that they just tried to do too many things at once with the new regulations, and overestimated their ability to understand all these changes (from suspension to aero) as a whole, versus understanding them in isolation. Perhaps not so unusual in (over)ambitious engineering teams. This is really more of a leadership issue than a technical one, that better explains Allison's return in the first place.

It’s been noted before that if they could run the car as flat to the ground in simulation then the numbers were pretty darn good. Except there is clearly been a hiatus between real world and simulation. Which nerfed the performance.

It’s all about getting the floor to work properly without interference from front and rear tyre wake and keeping a stable aero platform in all conditions. That’s the part that RB19 has nailed seemingly. It works everywhere.

I see teams will make relative quick jumps to closing the gap with RB. Whether teams can get to an all round performance of car/driver/pit wall is another thing all together

[Just_a_fan]

I guess it's the Mercury suspension.
It's strange that it's not side pod, but then there is a new side pod.

It must only be the floor fence or rear wing then if its not the sidepods.

Given these were the ones stated at Monaco..

Mercedes explains the six upgrades on its W14 F1 car
Mercedes has explained in detail the scale of the upgrades that it has brought to Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix.

Jonathan Noble
May 26, 2023, 12:11 PM

Front suspension: The top wishbone forward leg inboard pick-up has been lifted. This change results in improved positioning of wishbone wake, which in turn improves onset flow into the sidepod, therefore improving cooling performance.

Floor Fences: There has been a local load change in fence camber, which results in an increased local load and improved flow to the diffuser. This should deliver more rear downforce.

Sidepod inlet: A wide and high sidepod inlet helps improve flow to the floor edge, which results in more floor load and also improved flow to the rear corner.

Sidepods and bodywork: The increased bodywork width increases local downforce and also improves the flow to the rear wing assembly and rear corner.

Rear wing: The increased camber of the rear wing flap results in increased rear wing load, which in turn drops the pressure behind the car - thereby increasing rear floor load.

Rear brake duct winglets: A second cascade of cake-tin winglets added to the additional winglet array adds local winglet load. This also drops the pressure behind the lower suspension legs, increasing load on these too.

The list you post mentions the suspension and brake ducts, as well as the floor and rear wing. So why do you jump straight to "It must only be the floor fence or rear wing then if its not the sidepods."?

[chrisc90]

Mendis said it could have been the suspension...I added to the list. Lets face it, brake ducts are very very unlikely to bring a couple of tenths to the playing field arent they.

[mzso]

He also notes that the side pod and engine cover is not where the big performance is found. Pretty much the same drum I beat.

I think these are just pretenses. Everyone's getting more similar to RB, and that's a fact. So it's likely an important part of the performance.

[AR3-GP]

Mendis said it could have been the suspension...I added to the list. Lets face it, brake ducts are very very unlikely to bring a couple of tenths to the playing field arent they.

Apparently they did for Mercedes in 2021. And enough that racing point copied them in 2020, lol.

[DGP123]

As Allison stated pre-race, we expected to fall back behind the AM here, but none the less, a cracking drive from Lewis. Definitely stepped up his game with this new car, his motivation looks well and truly back.

As for Russell, looked like he was trying to match Alo/Ham, and just made a silly mistake while pushing. Should of pulled out a 3-4 here.

Ham 102
Rus 65

[214270]

Brundle was trying with the RUS is ready & his speed may undercut HAMs contract fee, but I don’t see it; Wolff needs to get out the chequebook. I genuinely think HAM is more necessary than ever if their true goal is to rise to the top again.

[Hammerfist]

As Allison stated pre-race, we expected to fall back behind the AM here, but none the less, a cracking drive from Lewis. Definitely stepped up his game with this new car, his motivation looks well and truly back.

As for Russell, looked like he was trying to match Alo/Ham, and just made a silly mistake while pushing.

Ham 102
Rus 65

Yeah well done. I was hoping we still had Aston covered but the updates they brought worked and they’re also closing the gap to rbr. I still think rbr is catchable. The second half of the year is going to be hard for them to keep this level of dominance. We already see that Perez is now struggling to beat Hamilton whereas before he had no problems doing so and Alonso is catching him up in the standings. So it’s a sign they are losing their edge slowly but surely. A little more worried about Aston now. They’re showing they are a serious player.

[Hammerfist]

Brundle was trying with the RUS is ready & his speed may undercut HAMs contract fee, but I don’t see it; Wolff needs to get out the chequebook. I genuinely think HAM is more necessary than ever if their true goal is to rise to the top again.

A lot of people got excited because Russell built up a lead in qualifying. But some of us warned that Hamilton is usually a slow starter and gets stronger as the season progresses and even when he trailed in qualifying Hamilton never lost his edge in the races. This looks like a blowout now. Duh…

[Tvetovnato]

I would keep my expectations down a bit. These past three races have been rain affected or low temp in dry which has impacted tyre usage more than normal. Max alluded to that in his post race interview as well. When temps start ro rise again and tyre warming won’t be an issue (for Perez at least) Red Bull will be back to 1-2s again quite comfortably I’m sure. The only hope is next year.

[zubster]

Any ideas on if a floor update is coming. Wasnt that suppose to be part of the Monaco package. Honestly would be great to have alonso and Lewis fighting all year long.