Mercedes AMG F1 W04

[mantikos]

Ted Kravitz mentioned on the final notebook of testing how the sides of the W04's diffuser exit projected air outwards like the Lotus. I recall one of the driver's mentioning that the Lotus was the hardest car to follow in 2012 because it created a lot of turbulent air, has Mercedes used this type of diffuser on purpose to disrupt the aerodynamics of following cars?

I assure you no car is designed to influence others more than themselves...the diffuser is designed to generate df...everything else is incidental.

[copperkipper1]

Low pressure areas behind the rear wheels = A #Benefit to 'project' air away from diffuser towards this area (Left and right side of the diffuser)

allows a greater effectivness of the diffuser.

[dans79]

Ted Kravitz mentioned on the final notebook of testing how the sides of the W04's diffuser exit projected air outwards like the Lotus. I recall one of the driver's mentioning that the Lotus was the hardest car to follow in 2012 because it created a lot of turbulent air, has Mercedes used this type of diffuser on purpose to disrupt the aerodynamics of following cars?

Most likely it's better at sealing off the sides of the diffuser, and preventing tire squirt from harming diffuser efficiency. If it's harder on cars behind, that's just an added bonus.

[Mika1]

I watched the Ted Kravitz notebook too, he said he was impressed by how close the new floor and FW is to the ground (rake).

[stefan_]

If you are talking about the part where he shows a picture of the Mercedes in or exiting a corner, he is referring to the roll of the car, not the rake.

[BlackMercedes]

If you are talking about the part where he shows a picture of the Mercedes in or exiting a corner, he is referring to the roll of the car, not the rake.

Ted did say how the suspension is soft and floor close to the floor but yes exiting the corner bound to be closer to the floor

[user001]

If you are talking about the part where he shows a picture of the Mercedes in or exiting a corner, he is referring to the roll of the car, not the rake.

Ted did say how the suspension is soft and floor close to the floor but yes exiting the corner bound to be closer to the floor

that means he refers to the mechanical grip.

[Vasconia]

Ted Kravitz mentioned on the final notebook of testing how the sides of the W04's diffuser exit projected air outwards like the Lotus. I recall one of the driver's mentioning that the Lotus was the hardest car to follow in 2012 because it created a lot of turbulent air, has Mercedes used this type of diffuser on purpose to disrupt the aerodynamics of following cars?

Make the pole and them create a turbulence to annoy the following cars, clever strategy by Mercedes.

About the tyres, if the working window is wider it will be easier to find the appropiate set-up, so Mercedes should suffer a liitte bit less, or at least they should suffer at the same lever as other teams. Anyway, if the car itself is aggressive with the tyres they will still have problems, the car supensions/basic set-up must be more gentle (just the opposite as WO3 was), and as far as I have seen it seems that this season this could be a real posibility, but with Mercedes I dont know what to expect.

[dren]

Looking at the front wing and rake the car is running, we can assume the car has more overall DF, mainly a much better rear than they have had. This certainly will help with the tires. Aldo Costa, the man who had issues turning the harder tires on at Ferrari, designed this car. With all of this thrown in and comparing the W04s degredation to other cars, I don't expect them to have the tire issues that they did last year.

Last year at this point the W03 looked quick at times, but it certainly had noticeable tire degredation.

[Huntresa]

Looking at the front wing and rake the car is running, we can assume the car has more overall DF, mainly a much better rear than they have had. This certainly will help with the tires. Aldo Costa, the man who had issues turning the harder tires on at Ferrari, designed this car. With all of this thrown in and comparing the W04s degredation to other cars, I don't expect them to have the tire issues that they did last year.

Last year at this point the W03 looked quick at times, but it certainly had noticeable tire degredation.

I dont think anyone will have problems turning the tyres on this year seeing as how soft all of them are, especially compared to 11 and 12.

[Shakeman]

Can anyone explain the reason for high deg with the W03 car and what they've done differently on the W04?

I realise it's likely to be several factors all playing their part, but did they run out of suspension travel/setup options on the W03 and not able to dial out the deg? Is the W04 likely much more flexible in terms of setup?

I'm interested in knowing what makes a car have a narrower tyre operating window than another? Is it possible to give any examples of why the W04 is better than the W03?

Cheers

[BlackMercedes]

Can anyone explain the reason for high deg with the W03 car and what they've done differently on the W04?

I realise it's likely to be several factors all playing their part, but did they run out of suspension travel/setup options on the W03 and not able to dial out the deg? Is the W04 likely much more flexible in terms of setup?

I'm interested in knowing what makes a car have a narrower tyre operating window than another? Is it possible to give any examples of why the W04 is better than the W03?

Cheers

The aggressive balance of the car of the W03 was all wrong, they went for a powerful quick car in a straight line rather than a balanced softer car.

The set up issues they had as well increased tyre deg and generally poor downforce from the start caused too many problems down the line.

Big difference is with the W04 increased rake better rear downforce better aero package.... car looks slimmer and stable and nimble as many people have said on here its all about the basics.

Once you get the basics sorted you can go forth and conquer

[OppositeLock]

I remember Mercedes were said to have the most aggressive drs and were struggling to get the flow to reattach after closing the flap. I wonder if they've gone for more downforce and a less aggressive drs like Renault is known for?

[turbof1]

The car seems to have made big steps. Of course people are going to talk about it. If Marussi suddenly would seem to outperform a midfield team, you would get the same activity.

[Raptor22]

I still think they're running lighter than the other teams. Melbourne will reveal all.