The Mercedes F1 isn’t proud to dispose of the Zero Pod, but it doesn’t rule out switching to the Red Bull Racing style concept.
The all-new F1 regulations introduced in 2022 have put an end to the dominance of the Mercedes F1 team. Until this year, Mercedes F1 has not won.
Adopting the Zeropod philosophy, the W13 not only suffers from the porpoising phenomenon more than any other car, but also lacks pace.
The Mercedes F1 has seen some positive signs over the last few weeks, but it’s true that it hasn’t won, and so far it doesn’t seem to have gained a foothold.
The Mercedes F1 took a step forward with an update to the W13 at the British Grand Prix, but that wasn’t enough.
Mercedes F1 is open to seeing what Red Bull Racing is doing in future upgrades, but technical director Mike Elliott says it’s not a side pod, it’s a floor that makes all the difference. rice field.
“Bodywork is a visibly different part, but I don’t think it’s probably the main differentiator,” said Mike Elliott.
“It’s in the details of the floor design. We evaluated some concepts in that direction. I don’t say which way to go, but I’m looking at Red Bull’s solution.”
“I don’t have any humility, I don’t think it might be wrong, and I think it’s ridiculous not to go see what others have done.”
“And it’s not just the Red Bull concept. Looking at all the concepts above and below the grid, what’s interesting and why?”
But Mike Elliott is willing to explore Red Bull’s options, but thinks more important is to understand why Mercedes F1 works better than their design. ..
“I think what I’m trying to do as a former aerodynamicist is to understand what’s happening in the flow field,” said Mike Elliott.
“We will come up with what we want to do in the flow field and develop the shape of the bodywork from there.”
“Therefore, we would look at it and say,’What do you think Red Bull’s bodywork is doing? Why are you doing that?’ For all the other cars above and below the grid. It’s the same. Next, we’ll see what we can learn from it and what we can apply. “
“There may be changes this year, there may be changes next year, or we may stick to the current ones. That’s the question we’re trying to answer.”
This year, F1 used the aerodynamics of the ground effect effect to create downforce for the car. That is, everything is in the floor and its vortex. “
“I think it’s very obvious when you look at the car. In Barcelona, we’ve made some pretty big changes to how we use aerodynamics,” said Mike Elliott.
“By doing so, we were able to make some good intrusions into the bounce song, but we did that by compromising some of the aerodynamics of the car.”
“That is, this upgrade was really important to try to get it back. It’s aimed at adding performance to the car and really moving forward in lap times, and the goal is bouncing and other negatives. It’s about doing it without damaging the face. “
Category: Category: F1 / Mercedes