Yes, this is supported by the race top speeds._cerber1 wrote: ↑28 Mar 2022, 09:19Well, in fact, the Mercedes engineer says this, that the motor deficit is only 0.1-0.2 seconds, everything else is on the chassis side. That is why customers do not blame their supplier.Tzk wrote: ↑28 Mar 2022, 09:11I don't believe this. At least the PU isn't the sole issue for this. Have a look at the speedtraps from Jeddah qualy. The Mercs were as fast as the Ferrari on the straights, pointing to similar drag levels. Still they lost out in every corner, pointing to a downforce deficit. So the Merc is simply inefficient, aero wise.
If we take the speed trap into account and compare RB (335.1km/h) with the Merc (327.1) that's a difference of 2.5% in drag. Now, drag scales exponentially with speed. So to get 2,5% additional speed, you'd need to overcome 5% additional dragn and thus need 5% extra power. At 1000hp that's ~50hp extra and the Mercs are still slower overall... I believe this theory is wrong. Even if the engine is a bit weaker than Honda and Ferrari, the Merc is inferior when it comes to drag and downforce.
Once the Merc in slipstream with DRS, the top speed deficit vanishes. This supports the theory that the drag comes from the rear wing.