Xyz22 wrote: ↑14 Mar 2022, 10:46
Just wanted to say that David Sanchez (Lead Aerodynamicist on the F1 75) commented on the analysis of the side pods and said that you did a great work considering the available data.
I've seen this on F1-75 thread, thanks.
I'm hoping F1 will post this F1 TV interview on YouTube soon, so we could all hear it without their paywall.
Fer.Fan wrote: ↑17 Mar 2022, 06:57
Hi Vanja 66
According to Binotto:
Remembering, however, that the new generation of cars makes the ground effect « the predominant part in terms of performance . From the fund comes 80-90% of the performances , the last tenths from the rest » said the Italian-Swiss TP
You are so right regarding koncept of F1 75. It is better to focus on rear wing and beam wing, try and create more downforce insted of ziro side pods. To have huge undercats ecc. makes cars unstaible. Just look at Aston MR22.
Well done Vanja.
I wouldn't say there's right or wrong for now, it's the first season of new rules, everyone is trying something different. Even if Mercedes didn't really take a new sidepod design direction, they did make a big evolutionary step. Having said that, seeing how both Red Bull and Ferrari chose to change a lot from 2021 (especially Ferrari) you get a feeling Mercedes might have played it too safe.
When I mentioned somewhere they chose to compromise the flow on engine cover to achieve those tiny sidepods, this is what I meant. This is maybe the best comparison photo to get a feeling of how clean the area in front of the rear wing actually is. Rear wing bends the oncoming air down, so placing some bodywork in this area will hurt its performance, and therefore also the beam wing and floor performance to some extent.
When I say the air bends down, this is what I mean. These are two x-sweep velocity plots from the base model. Since Y0 is affected by engine cover and generates somewhat distorted flow, I've put a Y150 plot as well, for a better overview. You can see how the air bends down a lot right in front of the rear wing, but this starts all the way around airbox and airbox cameras already. We have to keep in mind this model is not nearly as good as actual cars, meaning actual rear wings will likely bend the air down even more. Again, this means placing any "excess" bodywork in this area will also cause even more rear wing performance loss.
This doesn't mean Mercedes has a poor concept or a poor car. Their floor geometry might be a lot better than Ferrari or Red Bull. Maybe they found a lot of performance benefits from that mirror wing to make it worth the trouble. All I'm saying is I would rather do what Red Bull and Ferrari did. But that's just me.