Mercedes AMG F1 W04

[Ferraripilot]

You can safely bet that the 5 element wing added quite a bit of performance as it altered the setup possibilities of the entire car. With both drivers still saying there's understeer we may see W04 raked forward a bit more which enlarges the capabilities of the coanda skirt enlarging the side walls of the diffuser. So the back end immediately controls what the front end is capable of and for the foreseeable past MB have been hampered by their back end, but this apparently does not seem to be the case now. If MB's larger issue is making the front end balanced to the more stable rear then that's a good problem to have.

Some have said the back end was a bit uneasy during corner exit but one also must remember that this style of exhaust is more stable under braking rather than acceleration whereas the Red Bull ramp exhaust is give versa. So just because Nico or Lewis must act gingerly on the accel pedal out of a corner doesn't overly concern me with this exhaust arrangement.

[Mika1]

You can safely bet that the 5 element wing added quite a bit of performance as it altered the setup possibilities of the entire car. With both drivers still saying there's understeer we may see W04 raked forward a bit more which enlarges the capabilities of the coanda skirt enlarging the side walls of the diffuser. So the back end immediately controls what the front end is capable of and for the foreseeable past MB have been hampered by their back end, but this apparently does not seem to be the case now. If MB's larger issue is making the front end balanced to the more stable rear then that's a good problem to have.

Some have said the back end was a bit uneasy during corner exit but one also must remember that this style of exhaust is more stable under braking rather than acceleration whereas the Red Bull ramp exhaust is give versa. So just because Nico or Lewis must act gingerly on the accel pedal out of a corner doesn't overly concern me with this exhaust arrangement.

They have updated the exhaust solution and I have to say, it looks pretty good. A bit like the MP4/27. It will add downforce for sure.

[Ferraripilot]

I saw this at Jerez as well, but what is this possible duct (?) and underhanging bit for? anyone?

[dren]

That looks like something on the drive shaft cover. Both sides have it. Underneath is the pull rod.

[Ferraripilot]

That looks like something on the drive shaft cover. Both sides have it. Underneath is the pull rod.

Correct. It looks as if the top is a duct whilst the bottom hanging bit is perhaps a airspeed measuring device? I've no idea what it is really, no one else is using one.

[Richard]

Remember the mantra - if it isn't on the car, then it isn't in this thread! List of laptimes and "wow Rosberg is fast" etc have been moved out.

• Testing & race threads for timing info & race chatter
• Car threads should be about the physical features of the car
• Team threads for conversations about the team - people, sponsorship, management etc.
• We have a special fanboy thread for cheering on your team, prophecies, and trolling http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewto ... f=3&t=7520

[/i]

[dren]

I can't tell if those are pitot tubes or some sort of tire temp sensor or camera off the rear wing on the right.

[otbsti]

I can't tell if those are pitot tubes or some sort of tire temp sensor or camera off the rear wing on the right.

I'd put money on it being a tire temp sensor of some sort as the tire deg is going to be an issue for everyone...

[dren]

I can't tell if those are pitot tubes or some sort of tire temp sensor or camera off the rear wing on the right.

I'd put money on it being a tire temp sensor of some sort as the tire deg is going to be an issue for everyone...

Yes, I just read Nico's quote on the Merc website. He stated they need to work on tire degredation, so my guess is a tire camera or temp sensor.

[Forza]

Pressure taps and IR sensors
BCN T01-day 1












HiRes http://www.formule1.nl/media/uploads/me ... 9492.7.jpg

HiRes http://www.formule1.nl/media/uploads/me ... 579.41.jpg

[spmat]

What is it, kind of channels?

[spmat]

[Just_a_fan]

The left arrow points to a part of the brake cooling fins. The right arrow points to concave face of the diffuser - the bit where it rises quickly from the floor to the diffuser roof. Here it faces towards the front of the car so we're not getting the reflection that we see on the upper face so it appears dark.

[andrewf1]

Did the W04 run with any noticeable rake today? I've seen shots of the Red Bull and theirs already looks menacing.

[thomin]

I have a question regarding the DRD. It sounds to me a lot like a passive F-Duct. Mercedes was running one in 2010, so I wonder whether that could give them an edge here. I seem to remember Brawn saying that it was a mistake to put so much effort into the passive F-Duct, because it took them the whole season to make it work properly. That could be beneficial now however.

AFAIK, the passive F-Duct was all within the rear wing of the car, so there is a fundamental difference to the DRD. But I would imagine that the hardest part is to tune the device so that it's activated at precisely the point you need it. But the same problem applies to the passive F-Duct. So could Mercedes' experience with the passive F-Duct help them now, or is this so different that they'll have to start from scratch again? Because if they can't fall back on their old data, I really wonder if this DRD is worth the effort as nobody but Lotus seems to think it's a path worth exploring...