2023 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, July 21 - 23

[aleks_ader]

RBR to turn with zero-pods obliterating the field like there is no tomorrow would be such thing!

And a small group of Mercedes aero techs sit in the corner of the canteen, rocking slightly in their chairs, muttering "I told you so, I told you so, I told..."

Like that Monty Python skit with rabbit. XD

[AR3-GP]

Zero-pods on the Rb isn't going to make them any faster. Mercedes said the sidepods don't matter.

[scuderiabrandon]

Zero-pods on the Rb isn't going to make them any faster. Mercedes said the sidepods don't matter.

Despite it being impossible in-season to make such a drastic change, it's pretty clear now that sidepods were the least of mercedes issues.

[AR3-GP]

Zero-pods on the Rb isn't going to make them any faster. Mercedes said the sidepods don't matter.

Despite it being impossible in-season to make such a drastic change, it's pretty clear now that sidepods were the least of mercedes issues.

The messaging is all over the place.

Allison says they don't matter: https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-b ... /10488817/

Toto says the RB sidepod cause a significant loss of downforce:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... m=referral

Cutting the sidepod off the RB and gluing it to the Mercedes isn't going to make Mercedes faster (this is the point Allison makes, but it's the layman's low hanging fruit, or the so called "trivial solution" in math). Toto points out in the second link, that when you do this, you lose chunks of downforce. That is correct. The rest of the car is not optimized around the new sidepod.

The more interesting "solution" is the one that shows that a certain sidepod design goes hand in hand with a certain front wing and floor design. This is what is really meant when people point to the zero-pod as the problem. That it points to a conceptual error for the entire vehicle.

[Farnborough]

Zero-pods on the Rb isn't going to make them any faster. Mercedes said the sidepods don't matter.

Despite it being impossible in-season to make such a drastic change, it's pretty clear now that sidepods were the least of mercedes issues.

Their current iteration, MB, is nothing like the leading designs, being little more than the midwing "patched" into a small increase in sidepod. It proves nothing of interest as to how they could make use of a competent design.

The leading section is upside down for a start

[scuderiabrandon]

Zero-pods on the Rb isn't going to make them any faster. Mercedes said the sidepods don't matter.

Despite it being impossible in-season to make such a drastic change, it's pretty clear now that sidepods were the least of mercedes issues.

The messaging is all over the place.

Allison says they don't matter: https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-b ... /10488817/

Toto says the RB sidepod cause a significant loss of downforce:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... m=referral

Cutting the sidepod off the RB and gluing it to the Mercedes isn't going to make Mercedes faster (this is the point Allison makes, but it's the layman's low hanging fruit, or the so called "trivial solution" in math). Toto points out in the second link, that when you do this, you lose chunks of downforce. That is correct. The rest of the car is not optimized around the new sidepod.

The more interesting "solution" is the one that shows that a certain sidepod design goes hand in hand with a certain front wing and floor design. This is what is really meant when people point to the zero-pod as the problem. That it points to a conceptual error for the entire vehicle.

The loss in downforce is due to the extra lift a full sidepod creates but yeah I agree this

That it points to a conceptual error for the entire vehicle.

[organic]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... /10496783/

Stella:

"If there's any team that says that the bodywork and the sidepods don't have an effect in the current regulations, there's this long nose, Pinocchio-style,"

"I think it's actually the primary concept that seems to interact very well with the floor, because the sidepods in simple terms, act a little bit like mini skirts.

"Aerodynamically these wide sidepods help the suction in the floor. So that's the concept that it looks like you can't do without if you want to maximise the suction in the floor and the load on the car. And it's very clear that everyone is converging in that direction."

Some new quotes on the topic

[AR3-GP]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... /10496783/

Stella:

"If there's any team that says that the bodywork and the sidepods don't have an effect in the current regulations, there's this long nose, Pinocchio-style,"

"I think it's actually the primary concept that seems to interact very well with the floor, because the sidepods in simple terms, act a little bit like mini skirts.

"Aerodynamically these wide sidepods help the suction in the floor. So that's the concept that it looks like you can't do without if you want to maximise the suction in the floor and the load on the car. And it's very clear that everyone is converging in that direction."

Some new quotes on the topic

This is timely

"Sidepods don't matter" is the cry of a wounded pride.

[Chuckjr]

Thank you AR3-GP, you’ve summarized the Merc debacle pod precisely. I especially liked your pride comment.

Those that think the 1 hour quali is a good idea need to look at what happened the years before they changed it. It’s better now. Trust me on that.

I don’t like the required tire for quali idea, but I get the feeling that kind of synthetic augmentation in F1 is going to not only continue, but get worse. I so hate how these weekend gizmos they add cheapen the sport.

With the tightened field, Hungary should make for a good race. I’m excited to see the McLaren. So pleased Noris has a (hopefully) competitive car. Piastri? Is he that fast?

IMO I think the Danny to AT is a RB test to see if he still is fast. Pretty obvious. I think Checo is on thin thin ice. The hard tires Q1 won’t help his case. The pressure is 10 on him to perform. I don’t think they toss him this year unless he just can’t get it done.

Get the last corner right and the straight will make passing possible here. There’s many entries into turn one. Why does it remind me of Brazil turn 1? I still wish they would allow use of DRS anywhere on the track. That made for some ballsy maneuvers at tracks like this.

[Stu]

Personally I think that the tyre allocation for qualifying will be bad for ‘the show’ as it kills any chance of an upset in the order (big team/driver gets tyre strategy wrong & is outplayed by lower-mid grid team).

How is the track surface?
What is the weather forecast for the weekend?

[Henri]

Merc should be good here .. but redbull are favorites

[scuderiabrandon]

Should be really close behind Red Bull this weekend once again. Ferrari are good at the rear limited circuits, as are Aston Martin, Mercedes were decent here last year so I don't see why they wouldn't be this time around. Alpine will be in the mix just like they were in Monaco. McLaren is too early for me too judge. Historically weaker at the rear limited circuits this year.

It is one of those weekends where a bad qualifying or small setup error can cost you big.

[chrisc90]

[Cs98]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... /10496783/

Stella:

"If there's any team that says that the bodywork and the sidepods don't have an effect in the current regulations, there's this long nose, Pinocchio-style,"

"I think it's actually the primary concept that seems to interact very well with the floor, because the sidepods in simple terms, act a little bit like mini skirts.

"Aerodynamically these wide sidepods help the suction in the floor. So that's the concept that it looks like you can't do without if you want to maximise the suction in the floor and the load on the car. And it's very clear that everyone is converging in that direction."

Some new quotes on the topic

This is timely

"Sidepods don't matter" is the cry of a wounded pride.

Yeah but this has been patently obvious to anyone who looked at what teams did rather than what they said. Every team and especially that team has iterated on their sidepod from the first spec they brought. This is clearly a very important area for performance or they wouldn't be bothering with so many changes in such short time.

[zibby43]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... /10496783/

Stella:







Some new quotes on the topic

This is timely

"Sidepods don't matter" is the cry of a wounded pride.

Yeah but this has been patently obvious to anyone who looked at what teams did rather than what they said. Every team and especially that team has iterated on their sidepod from the first spec they brought. This is clearly a very important area for performance or they wouldn't be bothering with so many changes in such short time.

I’ve been saying it since the beginning of the season (i.e., the pod bodywork matters and that it must play an integral role on how it feeds major airflows downstream to the rest of the car), but a contingent of folks have pointed to Merc’s prior claims that they don’t matter as proof that they didn’t.

That’s either pride/saving face, as was pointed out, or they can’t figure out how to make them work with the rest of the car. Or a mix of both.