Mercedes W13

[Henri]

Brilliant explanation by b-sport

[SmallSoldier]

Very cool footage of Hamilton driving the W13, some onboard footage, as well as a few on track:

[e30ernest]

Very cool footage of Hamilton driving the W13, some onboard footage, as well as a few on track:

Nice! At around 1:55-1:58 in you can see how massive that exposed floor area is. Also the front suspension arms at least look more horizontal than before? Is it due to the bigger wheels?

[wowgr8]

Incredibly tight packaging

I wouldn't go that far, the Mercedes' famously large plenum is not even sticking out unlike on the McLaren. I think it's more of a mild packaging like say the 2019 Force India.

The plenum isn't visible because they've moved a bit more cooling onto the centerline (hence the nonexistent sidepods). And that area is a bit more fat which sides the plenum bump

[e30ernest]

Those front upper wishbones look absolutely fat. They are probably maximizing the amount of fairing they can use there. From the T-cam view, the upper wishbones almost look like a 2-pc wing.

[AeroDynamic]

Very cool footage of Hamilton driving the W13, some onboard footage, as well as a few on track:

Wow great footage! Must have friends in Mercedes thanks for sharing.

Here's George Russell (in 1080p glory!) great footages of W13 onboard and on track.

Russell (Onboard and on track footage begins 1:12)


Hamilton (1080 HD)

[JordanMugen]

The mirror has a nice vane running behind it over the sidepod.

Yes, that is a nice feature. I guess that's some kind of loophole in the wording.

That's a trend since 2019.

I mean these:


That's new AFAIK. Not sure how that gets around the minimum radius rule, other than Mercedes arguing that is part of the mirror mount, as there is a tiny section of the structure which is actually attached to the mirror. The FIA must be happy with that as all teams were apparently in discussion with the FIA during development of these cars regarding loopholes and grey areas.

I guess you suppose this is the same thing Blackout? The difference this time, I guess, is that Mercedes haven't even tried to make it look like its primary purpose is for mounting the mirror, and this time strakes and vanes are specifically banned in this area -- there isn't the free box with no minimum radius rule for the bargeboards anymore.

[e30ernest]

Yes, that is a nice feature. I guess that's some kind of loophole in the wording.

That's a trend since 2019.

I mean these:
https://i.imgur.com/fOzZqjV.png

That's new AFAIK. Not sure how that gets around the minimum radius rule, other than Mercedes arguing that is part of the mirror mount, as there is a tiny section of the structure which is actually attached to the mirror. The FIA must be happy with that as all teams were apparently in discussion with the FIA during development of these cars regarding loopholes and grey areas.

I guess you suppose this is the same thing Blackout? The difference this time, I guess, is that Mercedes haven't even tried to make it look like its primary purpose is for mounting the mirror, and this time strakes and vanes are specifically banned by the regulations apart from where specifically prescribed -- there isn't the free box with no minimum radius rule for the bargeboards anymore.
https://i.imgur.com/gflVB9k.png

Yeah I was referring to that too. I do think Mercedes is claiming it is part of the mirror support.

[Just_a_fan]

How long before Red Bull protest those mirror strakes?

[siskue2005]

Yes, that is a nice feature. I guess that's some kind of loophole in the wording.

That's a trend since 2019.

I mean these:
https://i.imgur.com/fOzZqjV.png

That's new AFAIK. Not sure how that gets around the minimum radius rule, other than Mercedes arguing that is part of the mirror mount, as there is a tiny section of the structure which is actually attached to the mirror. The FIA must be happy with that as all teams were apparently in discussion with the FIA during development of these cars regarding loopholes and grey areas.

I guess you suppose this is the same thing Blackout? The difference this time, I guess, is that Mercedes haven't even tried to make it look like its primary purpose is for mounting the mirror, and this time strakes and vanes are specifically banned in this area -- there isn't the free box with no minimum radius rule for the bargeboards anymore.
https://i.imgur.com/gflVB9k.png

As this is a technical forum, please quote the rules for more clarity, thanks

[ajprice]

The B Sport video explains the mirror support strakes, looks like they're legal there.

[FWandE]

How long before Red Bull protest those mirror strakes?

I wonder whether those strakes are considered to be part of the sidepod bodywork and not an added aero element.

I just watched the B sport video, not surprisingly an expert gives a much better and correct explanation

[siskue2005]

The B Sport video explains the mirror support strakes, looks like they're legal there.

Yes, it looks like the mirror support and wavy floor is within rules and easy to copy according to ex F1 aerodynamics

[djones]

I must say, fair play to Mercedes for releasing all of this footage. Especially when you have the likes of Redbull not even showing the proper car at an alleged launch event.

[Stu]

That's a trend since 2019.

I mean these:
https://i.imgur.com/fOzZqjV.png

That's new AFAIK. Not sure how that gets around the minimum radius rule, other than Mercedes arguing that is part of the mirror mount, as there is a tiny section of the structure which is actually attached to the mirror. The FIA must be happy with that as all teams were apparently in discussion with the FIA during development of these cars regarding loopholes and grey areas.

I guess you suppose this is the same thing Blackout? The difference this time, I guess, is that Mercedes haven't even tried to make it look like its primary purpose is for mounting the mirror, and this time strakes and vanes are specifically banned by the regulations apart from where specifically prescribed -- there isn't the free box with no minimum radius rule for the bargeboards anymore.
https://i.imgur.com/gflVB9k.png

Yeah I was referring to that too. I do think Mercedes is claiming it is part of the mirror support.

That’s a real stretch!! There is around 99% of it that does nothing for the mirror