Mercedes GP W02

[volarchico]

How are the gills above the exhaust legal?

[Rikhart]

The more I compare to other pics, I believe it is just a reflection or sorts.

Compare the pics posted by siskue2005, those shots were taken from completely different directions, but both have exactly the same "reflection" on exactly the same position? Come on

If you look good you can clearly see the reflection of the metal bar holding the parts...

And if you look extra-good, you can see the reflection is curved, that part is concave.

[Ferraripilot]

Regardless of if it's a reflection, that area of the sidepod is a little more concave than I first believed it to be.

[Rikhart]

edit.

[ringo]

looks desperate

Nice idea though, not sure if its supposed to act as a little pocket to back up pressure into.
I guess they have enough straight line speed to waste.

This thing seems to be a cheap way to improve down-force indeed.
The drag penalty on the side pod is very small, almost negligible, though after the indentation there is a turbulent region, which may be stalled.
That region is not really critical, especially with the exhuast blowing nearby.

In isolation the increase may be 3% for sidepod alone. For the whole car it's much less.
Desperation for the last drop indeed.

[Owen.C93]

I'm pretty sure that was always there. The reflections just make it look more concave.

Here's some comparison
http://photos.gpupdate.net/large/171899.jpg

[ringo]

true, though these may be slightly deeper.
Merc may be more confident with cooling now, so they can bang in those dents a little more.

[zgred]

[xpensive]

Thanks Z. The lack of attewtion to detail is again painfully obvious.

[Ferraripilot]

Thanks Z. The lack of attewtion to detail is again painfully obvious.

I'm just curious of your interpretation. No harm intended, but how so? I'm not seeing painfully obvious or even obvious but I am curious to learn.

[Morteza]

Thanks Z. The lack of attewtion to detail is again painfully obvious.

I'm just curious of your interpretation. No harm intended, but how so? I'm not seeing painfully obvious or even obvious but I am curious to learn.

I believe he means everything looks plain and simple. Everything is not as complicated as a Red Bull let's say. On a Red Bull for example, the front wing has a more complicated structure along with tiny parts and details. In Mercedes' case it is the exact opposite. This is what I understand from what Xpensive has mentioned.

Sorry X for answering what was asked from you.

[hollowBallistix]

Thanks Z. The lack of attewtion to detail is again painfully obvious.

I'm just curious of your interpretation. No harm intended, but how so? I'm not seeing painfully obvious or even obvious but I am curious to learn.

I believe he means everything looks plain and simple. Everything is not as complicated as a Red Bull let's say. On a Red Bull for example, the front wing has a more complicated structure along with tiny parts and details. In Mercedes' case it is the exact opposite. This is what I understand from what Xpensive has mentioned.

Sorry X for answering what was asked from you.

sometimes though the simplest looking things are hardest to engineer....

[Ferraripilot]

It seems they and Mclaren to an extent are the only teams not taking the Red Bull approach other than pull rod rear suspension. It's a short and wide car with the weight more centered and it looks nothing like the Red Bull. I like that school of thought and hope they do well with their innovation because no one will be able to Red Bull quite like Red Bull. MB is trying to do their own thing so perhaps in a couple years that will in fact be the way to go and everyone will then attempt to copy them. F1 is cyclical like this.

The wings appear to be the only somewhat bland items on the car to me. Everything else is incredibly fresh compared to what we have been seeing the past couple years. I just don't see plain and boring with no detail on this car. Just look at the sidepods alone. Who has sidepods like that, with double radiators like that! Neat. Just my opinion though

[Dragonfly]

I am afraid, after today's free practice, that Merc are nowhere near the expectations.

[bot6]

I'm not so sure. It depends on the expectations you had.

They look a bit faster than Renault and maybe 0.5 seconds slower than McLaren, 0.7 seconds slower than Red Bull...

That's pretty much what I expected. And I think the W02 has more room for development than the Red Bull, as the RB7 is already quite an optimized design.