Seanspeed wrote: ↑06 Sep 2024, 11:59
Vanja #66 wrote: ↑06 Sep 2024, 11:39
Having a stronger front with a bit more aero at low speed is not a huge thing
It actually is a huge thing, because it's not super low speed where it helps so much, it's the kind of
loaded lower to mid speed corners that are actually super common on the calendar these days, especially at all the non-traditional tracks. A reactive front end is a massive advantage to have if you can do it without compromising overall downforce(like through a shorter wheelbase) or balance.
It's also a big boost for drivers, as any driver ever likes a front end that reacts better to their turn-in inputs, and lastly, it also improves a driver's ability to overtake/defend by giving more viable options for racing lines and even with a traditional line, obviously the quicker you can get the car properly turned into a corner, the quicker you can start accelerating out of it, which inherently helps overtaking and defending.
It is overall quite significant and one of the biggest aspects of why Mclaren and Mercedes have taken the leaps they have(and thus why Red Bull and Ferrari have tried to complain about it).
People overestimate the impact that it has. I feel like you get the wrong impression on how controllable the flex and adjustability is. We are not talking about active aero here, where you can control exactly the amount of angle you can put on your wings for a specific corner type. This is natural flexing that occurs when (significant) load is put on the wing and the exploit comes from the fact that you can run a higher load at the front with minimal drag penalty.
People make the mistake of associating the decompression that happens at the end of the straights with what the wing is actually capable of moving throughout the lap, when in fact, that massive movement only happens when the wing is subjected to huge forces as the car goes 300kmh+
You can check the onboards of both McLaren and Mercedes (more visible on the McLaren) and you will see that through most corners, there is barely any difference that one can tell when you compare the angle at low-speed and the angle at medium-speed (it does not matter on high-speed corners, because these are usually corners that are taken flat or close to flat by everyone, but if anything the lower load actually hurts you there).
There are obviously benefits to having this, but most of the benefit comes from the fact that you can run with a higher load through lower-medium speed corners with minimal drag penalty on the straights and not because you get a perfect balance as the wing moves depending on the speed for each corner.
McLaren already had a front wing that flexes
similarly in early 2023, but of course nobody gave a sh!t back then when they were scrapping for points at the back of the grid. They changed the front suspension layout this year where the arms have moved back so you can see more of the front wing from the onboard, but still, you have a small window where you can see in last year's car how much movement there was already.
As for why Ferrari and RedBull are complaining about it. Well, RedBull is trying anything to take any sort of advantage away from competitors because they are in a tight spot now. It's what they have always have done. And Ferrari only recently has jumped in on the wagon and one can assume they are actually trying to clarify things because they want to exploit this themselves too.
