Mercedes W13

[PlatinumZealot]

The car has great peak perfirmance but it's handling is not consitent apparently. Another Diva.

[Marty_Y]

[De Jokke]

It's a shame they couldn't stay at Barca or have two test sessions at Bahrain, as it would have been easier to digest the problembucket.

[De Jokke]

yes but they loose it all in the fast stuff

[De Jokke]

Seems like the floor trim modifications didn't have the desired effect. Russel a sec down.

The only car looking to behave like last years cars is the RBR.

This W13 looks a bit like the mp4/24, viewed from the back (hopefully it performs better):
https://www.carpixel.net/w/1fbd8a5fcf4e ... -46857.jpg

[InsaneX_Badger]

Seems like the floor trim modifications didn't have the desired effect. Russel a sec down.

The only car looking to behave like last years cars is the RBR.

Definitely. Merc are telling the truth that for the first few races they won't be at the front. Just hope they can get the car there for the test of 2022 and beyond.

[chrisc90]

yes but they loose it all in the fast stuff

Agreed, Need to have a balance of the two. if you cant go fast on the straights, its no good being good in the twisty stuff as other cars will just overtake half way down the straights.

Martins just said the Merc looks the worst for porpoising.

[De Jokke]

Anybody here who still thinks they are sandbagging?

Guys come on, it's real, they have troubles. BUT they are merc and (just like last year, also troubles) they can correct this. Pretty sure of it. Hopefully it unlocks the load of performance Lewis was talking about.

[InsaneX_Badger]

Anybody here who still thinks they are sandbagging?

Guys come on, it's real, they have troubles. BUT they are merc and (just like last year, also troubles) they can correct this. Pretty sure of it. Hopefully it unlocks the load of performance Lewis was talking about.

Yeah maybe, but we've learned from Ferrari and Red Bull when Merc was leading for all these years. Yeah they can sort their issues out, but Merc also are improving on a better foundation and maintain their lead, hence their dominance. It took Red Bull until the end of the regs to catch up and be on equal footing. Will this be shorter due to development and budget restrictions we won't know until a few seasons into those rules. Tbh this applies more to the team thread but I'm done

[cooken]

I kinda reckon that a big floor upgrade with more control surfaces/features along the edges will go a long way to mitigating the porpoising. That's the area is expect to see the biggest changes in going into next weekend (if they are ready).

[De Jokke]

Who says they will have a new floor?

Palmer was talking about another 'big thing' from merc today, anyone seen it?

I'm expecting some tweaks around the purpoising but no magic breakthrough. These first few races are going to be hard guys...

[Sevach]

yes but they loose it all in the fast stuff

Agreed, Need to have a balance of the two. if you cant go fast on the straights, its no good being good in the twisty stuff as other cars will just overtake half way down the straights.

Martins just said the Merc looks the worst for porpoising.

That cornering performance might be due to running the lowest.
Mercedes still hasn't experimented with cuts to their floor that let some air "leak out", at this point it seems like they are trying to have "everything" but this compromise might be needed.

[cooken]

Who says they will have a new floor?

I'm just speculating. To me it seems that's the part of the car that has the most scope for aero development, and seems like the current problem area. That in concert with mechanical setup.

[De Jokke]

yes but they loose it all in the fast stuff

Agreed, Need to have a balance of the two. if you cant go fast on the straights, its no good being good in the twisty stuff as other cars will just overtake half way down the straights.

Martins just said the Merc looks the worst for porpoising.

That cornering performance might be due to running the lowest.
Mercedes still hasn't experimented with cuts to their floor that let some air "leak out", at this point it seems like they are trying to have "everything" but this compromise might be needed.

Some merc engineer told that it wasn't as easy to just cut holes in the floor to stop the purpoising.
It surprises me that Merc seems to have overlooked this effect by a large margin, hence their problems now...

[chrisc90]

How much 'testing' do you think there will be in FP1 and FP2? Testing new floors etc during FP is risky work, especially if they dont work.