2022 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[chrisc90]

Hmm, remember me saying this car was a dud and that in Belgium (despite the Hungarian pole) would be back to its old ways?? Seems I was right.
You can keep rating me negatively, but please have the dignity to admit this car is a dud and merc should put it in the bin ASAP!!!

Even Lewis thinks likewise when you look at his interview and reading between the lines.
I hope, from the bottom of my heart, Merc can fix it with the W14 but I highly doubt it , as every time they have a huge update, the car seems to go backwards (pointing to a correlation issue or not understanding the issues correctly).

For tomorrow, Verstappen will cruise to an easy win with that rocketcar. I don't think that even the W11 had such a margin on the competition.

Worst bit is… if they put side pods back on it, it’s effectively losing a year/6 months on the competition. Even Williams have the pods now and Albon had a great drive at spa in quali.

Either that, or that’s big underlying issues suspension/ geometry wise where they struggle with the tyres or the floor isn’t as good as the others

[PlatinumZealot]

The real upgrade package is still to come. So let's wait and see.

[zibby43]

If the narrow bodywork is an issue, someone knowledgeable pointed out the fact that they made a lot of compromises with the PU to accommodate that design choice.

Could be a double blow.

RBR built an absolutely dominant car. And they were unaffected by the TD this year, it seems. So fair play to them.

[zibby43]

The real upgrade package is still to come. So let's wait and see.

Toto said they’re pulling the plug on the W13 today.

It’s dusted.

Toto Wolff: “There is not a positive that I heard about how the car performs here this weekend and throughout the weekend. So I think now it's time to consolidate and decide what to do next year.”

[Just_a_fan]

this car is a dud and merc should put it in the bin ASAP!!!

And what do they use to race the rest of the season? Scooters? Skate boards?

[zibby43]

Lewis Hamilton on the W13’s problems: “It’s balance. Even just on the straight, I keep looking in the mirror, it feels like you got a parachute behind you so we’re probably little bit too draggy, and just the aero balance through corner performance.

Soon as you hit the brakes the aero balance shifts. It’s very very unstable so you can’t commit to the corners, and when you finally get to the corners the rear’s sliding so it’s very very hard to work around that.”

The only positive about this car is that it has been reliable.

Aside from that, it’s ugly (thanks to the sidepods) and slow.

[PlatinumZealot]

The real upgrade package is still to come. So let's wait and see.

Toto said they’re pulling the plug on the W13 today.

It’s dusted.

Toto Wolff: “There is not a positive that I heard about how the car performs here this weekend and throughout the weekend. So I think now it's time to consolidate and decide what to do next year.”

The upgrade would have been designed and in the tunnel already tho.

[zibby43]

The real upgrade package is still to come. So let's wait and see.

Toto said they’re pulling the plug on the W13 today.

It’s dusted.

Toto Wolff: “There is not a positive that I heard about how the car performs here this weekend and throughout the weekend. So I think now it's time to consolidate and decide what to do next year.”

The upgrade would have been designed and in the tunnel already tho.

Undoubtedly. I was kinda driving at the fact that it (i.e., any upgrade) must not be significant, or may not exist at all, if consolidation/moving on was the conclusion drawn by Toto today.

Looked through some data. The car was losing 6 tenths on the straights alone compared to RBR. Sheesh.

[napoleon1981]

The real upgrade package is still to come. So let's wait and see.

Real upgrade package nr3 this year?

[ringo]

If the narrow bodywork is an issue, someone knowledgeable pointed out the fact that they made a lot of compromises with the PU to accommodate that design choice.

Could be a double blow.

RBR built an absolutely dominant car. And they were unaffected by the TD this year, it seems. So fair play to them.

Yes, they did a lot of compromise for that bodywork.
There may be room for development in other areas if the design is changed. I do think however, that next year's car may be something in between this design and the sloped down pod design.
Haas has barely improved with the Ferrari pods, but Alpine is doing very well, and is in fact faster than Mercedes.
I really do not see why Alonso is leaving.

It would be interesting to hear the engineer's feedback on this car. The biggest weakness I see, may be weight, and suspension. The front end characteristically has no grip. And when it does get a little the back end snaps at high speed.
The aero balance is very peaky and delicate.
W14 need to be fully sorted out if they want Lewis or George to be WDC next year.

Anyhow let us see what the car is like over a race distance. Temperatures were low and it may have explained the understeer in the car. They may run better over the distance.

[zibby43]

If the narrow bodywork is an issue, someone knowledgeable pointed out the fact that they made a lot of compromises with the PU to accommodate that design choice.

Could be a double blow.

RBR built an absolutely dominant car. And they were unaffected by the TD this year, it seems. So fair play to them.

Yes, they did a lot of compromise for that bodywork.
There may be room for development in other areas if the design is changed. I do think however, that next year's car may be something in between this design and the sloped down pod design.
Haas has barely improved with the Ferrari pods, but Alpine is doing very well, and is in fact faster than Mercedes.
I really do not see why Alonso is leaving.

It would be interesting to hear the engineer's feedback on this car. The biggest weakness I see, may be weight, and suspension. The front end characteristically has no grip. And when it does get a little the back end snaps at high speed.
The aero balance is very peaky and delicate.
W14 need to be fully sorted out if they want Lewis or George to be WDC next year.

Anyhow let us see what the car is like over a race distance. Temperatures were low and it may have explained the understeer in the car. They may run better over the distance.

Thinnest setup window of the hybrid era for Merc.

The PU design is now baked until ‘26. So whatever performance they may have given up to go with verti-pods is probably lost, sadly.

And while I fully agree with the team that the bodywork in and of itself is not the sole culprit, the choice there has impacted the floor and the diffuser. And now you have to run the suspension a certain way to make those areas work. It’s just cumulative.

The floor continues to look (I know, eyeball CFD) so underdeveloped compared to Ferrari and RBR. Even Hamilton publicly alluded to this fact today.

Alpine is definitely a nuisance in qualifying trim - like McLaren - but they’re typically no match for the Mercs in race trim.

This qualifying pace has to improve. You need a great race car to win, yes, but qualifying position is still integral to this generation of F1.

[ringo]

There will be freedom I think with exhaust pipes, and coolers and such. I could be wrong, but the PU can still be improved without the major components needing to be changed.

[Big Tea]

I think it is the tyres that completely caught them out. Not saying it would be the best on the grid, but it takes so much tinkering to get the tyres even close to where they want there is little they can then do without completely resetting what they have just done. I think in 'the old days' when they could take it somewhere and test it to buggery it would probably be a fair car by now

[El_KaPpa]

Maybe even Mercedes had to lose with the new TD

[InsaneX_Badger]

Toto said they’re pulling the plug on the W13 today.

It’s dusted.

Toto Wolff: “There is not a positive that I heard about how the car performs here this weekend and throughout the weekend. So I think now it's time to consolidate and decide what to do next year.”

The upgrade would have been designed and in the tunnel already tho.

Undoubtedly. I was kinda driving at the fact that it (i.e., any upgrade) must not be significant, or may not exist at all, if consolidation/moving on was the conclusion drawn by Toto today.

Looked through some data. The car was losing 6 tenths on the straights alone compared to RBR. Sheesh.

If that's the case I don't want to know how much Merc will lose on the straights at Monza.