Mercedes GP MGP W01

[PlatinumZealot]

Edit:

I meant, I hear the Mercedes has too much weight to the front.

[allan]

and that's why they're moving radiators to the back, or sorta

[JohnsonEvilTwin]

The Radiator redistribution is interesting and also lends me to believe this car is only half developed at this stage.
I will reserve judgement until i see the final aerodynamic upgrade (either at Bahrain or Barcelona) that will include a possible new diffuser and frontwing.

Also this does go some way in showing that Ross Brawn has found a good way of addressing the balance issues of the car. I hope they can make it quick [-o<

[marcush.]

with the necessary increase in wheelbase the shift in vehicle weight distribution is minor but of course you gain some freedom in design with positioning some parts ,namely the radiators .but shifting those 25 kilos of cores + fluids 100mm forward or backwards will not yield any significant redistribution of weight nothing that would help a obvious flaw in the design of the car.

assuming the radiators where sitting completely on the front axle and could be shifted to sit on the rear axle this could potentially redistribute the weight balance by 4%.
I assume they carry 60 kilos of ballast + driver @60 kilo that is around 500 kilos
of weight.
In effect ,by shifting those 60 kilos from an assumed front mount to the rear would indeed shift the weuight distribution by a staggering 12%!
So ,to me the word about shifting weight by repositioning radiators is not very valid ,as they have stronger tools in their armoury to do that,possibly without any
negative effect on aero..that is NOT saying they may have a new solution to be put on the car ,but surely any weight shift is not really the reason for doing such.

[axle]

Just have to add, I will laugh my socks off if the diffuser is the same/very similar in Barca as it has been so far... so many are so adament there is a big change coming...

[djones]

I guess even if its helps move 1% of weight, its still 1% which is quite a lot in F1 terms.

Maybe they are just angling them a bit more or something to undercut the side pods further.

Truth is we will never know - which is a shame.

[myurr]

Just have to add, I will laugh my socks off if the diffuser is the same/very similar in Barca as it has been so far... so many are so adament there is a big change coming...

Even if they change the diffuser it would most likely be a subtle revision and not something drastically different. It is a very rare occurrence that a team drastically changes their car or unveils some ground breaking innovation just before the first race. Any major change would take a long time for other teams to copy, so it is much better for the team to just get on with testing it as soon as they are able so that they can extract the most from it.

[JohnsonEvilTwin]

Can we go by what Brawn has actually said?

"The car you see here(Valencia)will be quite different when we reach Bahrain"

So going on that, what can be changed to make the car "quite different"?

1) The front wing (the W01 looks like it is using last years front wing)
2) The Diffuser (As already pointed out, its last years diffuser)

Now the real question here is will Ross Brawn, with his reputation of pushing technical boundaries, settle for last years bits on this years car?
Personally I cannot see him doing that.

We must also think why he made the rear of the car so compact. The Mercedes tapered tail, is so unneccesarily compact in conjunction with the current diffuser. It can support a far larger diffuser by the looks of it.

My impression of the car is that it is pretty good using last years bits and pieces, So I expect a sizeable leap when Brawns updates are fitted for either Barca or Bahrain.

[marcush.]

I guess even if its helps move 1% of weight, its still 1% which is quite a lot in F1 terms.

Maybe they are just angling them a bit more or something to undercut the side pods further.

Truth is we will never know - which is a shame.

even a 1%change would be a huge move of parts around and totally new approaches in terms of layout and shape of the radiators.
what I don´t get in this is why would you produce and test parts so far away from wht you want to race ?
in reality if they found out about their concept being wrong in terms of weight distribution,the work should go into trying to reposition the ballast into more favourable positions as I can´t see any scope for making big weight savings in a current F1 Manufacturer car or possibilities to change weight distribution thru simple repackaging of parts .
the idea is to make the thing as light as possible first and then put in the ballast to get the CG down as far as possible and where you need it,right?

[ISLAMATRON]

with 15kg of extra ballast this year moving the cg is easier than a 3 sec tire change pit stop

[myurr]

Can we go by what Brawn has actually said?

"The car you see here(Valencia)will be quite different when we reach Bahrain"

Every team says that every year, and every year those with short memories get their panties in a twist. What you always end up with is variations on the theme to make the wings specific to the track, small updates, etc.

Basically all the teams will bring their first aero update to either the final test or Bahrain. Same as any other GP weekend where they introduce updates, it will consist of small steps and evolutions of the current car.

[Mysticf1]

Lets not forget that F1 is a spin doctors paradise, just because Brawn said it doesn't mean its necessarily true.

[marcush.]

with 15kg of extra ballast this year moving the cg is easier than a 3 sec tire change pit stop

a lot easier...

[JohnsonEvilTwin]

Of course other team are bringing updates, I wouldnt expect anything less.
But is any other top 3 team running 09 aero? No chance.

They are very different, even red bulls aero mods are different from last year.

The Mercedes GP update will be more extensive in my opinion as it encompasses the front wing and the diffuser.
I'm speculating on this using some free licence, but it stands to reason, why would the W01 look TOTALLY different to the BGP001 AND use the same front wing and diffuser?
There is only 2 reasons for this.
1) Its an interim measure until the new wing and diffuser arrives
OR
2)Brawn always had it in mind to use last years aero.

I'm more inclined to believe 1, as Brawn had to have a very strong case for Mercedes investment and to coax Schumacher back. Using last years diffuser and front wing is not a strong case at all!

[djones]

Are the other top teams 100% using new wings and difusers to last year?

If thats the case then I agree with JohnsonEvilTwin. The Merc is not going to have the same incremental updates as the others but in fact some pretty fundamental updates.