Mercedes GP W02

[aral]

So it is the third bodywork option since Thursday that I have noticed on this car.
1 - the new and white floor with a Red Bull style blown diffuser & no vents
2 - the picture above, that we have seen on practice 1
3 - finally, the one we saw in Canada - they use it on practice 2

Can anybody explain, what are the differences?

Onboard shots showed a series of gills at top of pods. If you zoom the attached photo, you can see them just behind Schumachers helmet. Couple these with the vent on the side, behind the Petronas advert.And more below the Syntium ad.

[dren]

Sounds like Rosberg had some teething issues with the KERS and engine changes. Schumacher I'm guessing got in a great lap. He doesn't expect Mercedes to beat or mix it with the top three. Looks like they should have the upper hand on the Renault though.

I didn't get to watch actual practice so I have no idea what configurations the cars ran with. Was the new exhaust configuration and floor raced at all?

[Adamski]

I have not seen them running the new exhaust configuration ...in Fp1 or 2

but whatever they do the car is a lot more competitive now and Schumacher is on one level with Rosberg.

Yes, that is what I want to say. Yesterday, we saw the DHL package comes with a new bodywork, that I haven't seen in today's practice sessions. But why not? There is a problem with it, or they are running it, but I just simply miss it?

Onboard shots showed a series of gills at top of pods. If you zoom the attached photo, you can see them just behind Schumachers helmet. Couple these with the vent on the side, behind the Petronas advert.And more below the Syntium ad.

Thanks Gilgen, but my no vents post was about the DHL package. Look at this picture:

There are no vents.

[Ferraripilot]

The only difference I see in the above pic is the large vent on the sidepod itself is no longer 5-6 vents, but just one large vent. The vents on top of the sidepod have been there but I cannot recall for how long. I am sure it has been a couple races at least

[Ferraripilot]

Regarding the new EBD bodywork, there was earlier a picture of Nico in that car but I do not know when it was taken.

[dren]

It was stated the new configuration would only be on one car and raced only in free practice. Perhaps it was on Nico's?

[mep]

What I don't really get is that we haven't seen any mojar change for the whole year and now one race before it gots banned they test out the EBD.
I would have expected them to rethink the exhaust to be blown towards the rear wing like Brawn and Schumacher had it during their Ferrari days. It's kind of misterious how some technical solutions become common fashion. Exhaust blown diffusor is nothing new. More than 10 years ago everybody used it. Then Ferrari came up with the rear wing blown exhaust and everybody followed. Newey made a try to go back with the Mp 4/18 which didn't work at all. Now out of a sudden everybody has switched back very quickly to exhaust blown diffusors. Why was there a period of several years where everybody thought blowing the rear wing is better? Will some teams go back to this solution soon?

[Pierce89]

I have not seen them running the new exhaust configuration ...in Fp1 or 2

but whatever they do the car is a lot more competitive now and Schumacher is on one level with Rosberg.

Unfortunately, we all know this won't last. The car has always been good for one hot lap and Shumi often finishes practice higher than Nico.

[marcush.]

some of our forum members blow that horn all time:see it copy it and hope for the best ...

I think the whole racing business and a lot of others is going like this.If you can grab an idea from someone else why bother and make up your own mind about a
solution to the task....

To me this is really a mystery in a world of specialists and claims of being the best of the best and all they do is look over the fence and copy what the quickest have come up with.

Brawn is stating bemused that with the information available now he would decide differntly on certain key aspects of the car...in terms of fueltank layout -height /length, wheelbase,exhaust configuration..

Come on he could have read all this already last year in this very forum about the w01 ,right?

Why not build a true Muletto LAST year and make a true evaluation on things like wheelbase ,cofG height influence,etc in those end of season tests with a non homologated car?

I think these guys really look too much into their laptops instead of making up their minds before commiting to something they are stuck with for the full season.If I´m not sure about a decision .I have to go to the ground of the reasons for or against and an honest questioning of your approach.
Look at RedBull they compromised their KerS for AERO and layout of the car.They had trouble all year with it ..but hey they were in position to win each race so far.That seems to be a good and honest decision making process in place and compromise where you can afford to sacrifice instead of compromise key areas of performance to realise a brainchild of a ultrashort wheelbase.....my 2 cents.
But then I still don´t think it´s the car or its design that is at fault.

[GSBellew]

Might it be some ceramic material (white colour, heat resistant)?

Are both cars running it or maybe just one for comparison?
Schumacher is a good amount ahead of Rosberg in FP2.
If yes then it really makes a big difference and should have been on the car long time before.
Hmm on the pictures shown above I don't see it on both cars?

It could be white Zircotec, which is a heat resistant ceramic coating, http://www.zircotec.com

I only say some of practice 2 & missed practice 1 do did not see if they ran it

[beelsebob]

It could be white Zircotec, which is a heat resistant ceramic coating, http://www.zircotec.com

I only say some of practice 2 & missed practice 1 do did not see if they ran it

They were not running it in P1 that I saw – the exhausts were exiting in the same place as before, with a large hole cut above them for extra cooling.

[marcush.]

that hole was more a scoop or a bulge ending in a hole...
In Fp2 they did not run the new exhaust either..strange.Maybe they decided to concentrate working on what they have and atapt to the new one map only rule.

[747heavy]

......
Why was there a period of several years where everybody thought blowing the rear wing is better? Will some teams go back to this solution soon?

not sure the idea behind the periscop exhaust, was solely aerodynamic.
Remembe that it was a time, where the engine war was in full swing, and higher
and higher rpm´s the "order of the day".

Long exhausts (headers) are not the optimum solutions for this.
So venting the exhaust out of the top, was a solution to achieve short exhaust length, and it help with cooling (venting air out the sidepods) as well.

Now with lower rev limits, you perhaps don´t pay too much of a price for more exhaust length, therefore it opens up the option for EBD again.

just a thought, could be wrong

[hardingfv32]

It would be my opinion that the better teams know all the possible design paths at the start of the car design. The designer has to make a choice which way to go with having a complete knowledge of how each choice might progress. They simply not have enough time to gather a complete understanding of each possibility. So they make a judgement.

As the season progresses they can see what designs are if fact better if some of the other choices are used by competitors. If another design is clearly turning out better, there is no choice but to go that route. At this point in the season can the designers afford to go off on a new incorrect path? Being equal is better than being non-competitive.

If this is considered copying, so be it.

Brian

[hardingfv32]

I know much is made of the secondary pipe length and size. I think it has a very small order of importance relative to the complete exhaust system. The aero guys always seem to hold sway over the engine department when it comes to exhaust exit location.

Brian