beelsebob wrote:
I suspect that Merc have better aero than even RBR at the moment. Merc are about 2 seconds ahead of the nearest Merc car. RedBull are a mere half a second ahead of the nearest Renault engined car.
I wouldn't go as far as that.
The W05 is and has been the prime goal for Mercedes in the last 18 months. The power unit, the energy recovery systems and the auxiliaries have all been tailor made to this cars requirements.
Put simply, the customers have had to change their concepts to fit in with the above.
Packaging of the internals on the W05 is supremely compact. It looks tailor made, as it is. My initial thoughts on Mercedes speed is that the car could be quick as a result of many things, not just aero.
Firstly, the power of the Mercedes engine hybrid systems are a clear step ahead of anything out there.
Secondly, Mercedes had a huge net gain coming into this season due to the exhaust ban.
If they could match the DF levels by due to the exhaust, they would be carrying alot more fuel. Hence why we saw them slip back in races last year and the years before.
Thirdly, tyres are not as prone to going off as last year. As with point 2, it helped the team get a near automatic net gain. The tyres can be pushed harder and the heat dissipation is better this year helping them get a monkey off their back.
If you look at the design language of the W04 to the W05, there are many similarities. The front wing looks fantastic and is also a clear evolution of last years wing. So there is a stability, which allows for the team to hone more performance from a stable platform. So aero certainly is a factor in pushing them forwards.
However, when you add the 3 factors up, you begin to see why even as early as last year, alot of people were calling Mercedes AMG out as not just contenders but favourites for 2014.