I was looking at the wrong images. i can see what you mean now with the McLaren sidepod upgrade. I still wouldn't call them RB style pods though, although they do share similarities it's more a hybrid.GrizzleBoy wrote: ↑22 Jul 2022, 14:59So now that Mclaren have gone the Red Bull side pod shape, Mercedes are now the only Mercedes powered team with zero pods and the only Mercedes powered team not running a RB/Ferrari shaped side pod.
Have we seen in speed traps yet that the other teams are achieving much higher top speeds than Mercedes due to reduced drag from their new sidepods?
The big question is if they are already abandoning the concept or not. I guess we'll see next year when they keep these pods or won't. I'm not sure Merc is willing to invest time into this years car to make the switch to yet another sidepod shape after already switching at the start of the season.
The sidepods might be slimmer, at the top part anyway, but other parts are not. The engine cover higher up is pretty 'fat' and this concept also exposes the rear tyres a lot more. I don't think (but this is guess work, I am not a aerodynamica specialist) that was never designed to have low drag. It is designed to have more downforce.
Mclaren had little to gain by persevering. They have not looked like they are going to pull ahead of Merc and they are being chased hard by Alpine so can not afford 'delayed gratification' or they will be too far behind by the time it arrives.Tzk wrote: ↑24 Jul 2022, 10:14The big question is if they are already abandoning the concept or not. I guess we'll see next year when they keep these pods or won't. I'm not sure Merc is willing to invest time into this years car to make the switch to yet another sidepod shape after already switching at the start of the season.
Agree. Also, purely from a “projected frontal area” the Merc design is not a reduction of this value compared to other designs because any reduction in frontal area of the pods is masked by the front tires. Add in the additional section of the aforementioned fatter engine cover higher up and I don’t really see any advantage to the design.marcel171281 wrote: ↑24 Jul 2022, 10:56The sidepods might be slimmer, at the top part anyway, but other parts are not. The engine cover higher up is pretty 'fat' and this concept also exposes the rear tyres a lot more. I don't think (but this is guess work, I am not a aerodynamica specialist) that was never designed to have low drag. It is designed to have more downforce.
I btw think that the term 'zero-pods' is pretty exaggerated. They are very different in shape, but they are still very much there:
https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/upl ... _HiRes.jpg
They most probably are. Toto Wolff himself said yesterday on Premiere Germany that the new update has not brought what they hoped for, and that it is clear now that their concept went down like a lead ballon(he literally said "das Konzept war ein Schuss in den Ofen", but went down like a lead ballon is the english proverb). If Toto himself finally admits that their concept is just wrong, they are definetely abandoning the concept.Tzk wrote: ↑24 Jul 2022, 10:14The big question is if they are already abandoning the concept or not. I guess we'll see next year when they keep these pods or won't. I'm not sure Merc is willing to invest time into this years car to make the switch to yet another sidepod shape after already switching at the start of the season.
honestly from all the posts ive seen you put up hardly any of them have been constructive discussion, rather just bashing at supposed failed concepts and being derogatory towards the team. take it to the team thread or just actually discuss the technical elements in this thread!Andi76 wrote: ↑24 Jul 2022, 14:52They most probably are. Toto Wolff himself said yesterday on Premiere Germany that the new update has not brought what they hoped for, and that it is clear now that their concept went down like a lead ballon(he literally said "das Konzept war ein Schuss in den Ofen", but went down like a lead ballon is the english proverb). If Toto himself finally admits that their concept is just wrong, they are definetely abandoning the concept.Tzk wrote: ↑24 Jul 2022, 10:14The big question is if they are already abandoning the concept or not. I guess we'll see next year when they keep these pods or won't. I'm not sure Merc is willing to invest time into this years car to make the switch to yet another sidepod shape after already switching at the start of the season.
Eh, no. It doesn't. Downwash is affected only by lift coefficient and wing planform geometry, so basically - wing geometry. Without this downwash, the car would have even less downforce. I'm sure the drag/downforce trade-off was well worth it, it usually is with these downwashing elements, they can really make a difference.