Mercedes W14 Speculation Thread

[pursue_one's]

Mercedes has approved the design of the W14 chassis.

[AR3-GP]

Merc dubious slot gap separators banned:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fia-f ... /10409286/

[AR3-GP]

A new tub is also a way to lose weight. We all remember the new lighter chassis being ready for Red Bull which most probably they did not use it at all or used it just for Max last year due to the cost cap.
For Merc most probably there will be other optimizations as well since most expect a new suspension as well which would need tweaks.
Given last year's evolution I would expect that many teams would be able to have the minimum allowed weight from the start of the season. Then there would be room to develop better LEGO style components to allow cheaper upgrades throughout the year. Merc was really good at it last year, but given weight allowances I would expect investments in low weight parts that allow easy assembly and disassembly of parts, e.g., endplates of the front wing etc.

The irony is that "modularity" is the antithesis of weight savings. The modularity lets them run more parts at a lower cost, but it also makes the car heavier. Every joint is extra weight because joints have to be reinforced making them heavier than a single-piece construction.

For sure this is the case, but teams are now converging to the lower weight limit and it does not seem that FIA will lower this number so eventually they might be able to gain 2-4 kg in the coming and following seasons for supporting modularity. For me it is a new parameter to the game because of the cost cap.

I wouldn't call it "gaming". It's just being clever. There is less waste as well so that's an added benefit.

[f1jcw]

The irony is that "modularity" is the antithesis of weight savings. The modularity lets them run more parts at a lower cost, but it also makes the car heavier. Every joint is extra weight because joints have to be reinforced making them heavier than a single-piece construction.

For sure this is the case, but teams are now converging to the lower weight limit and it does not seem that FIA will lower this number so eventually they might be able to gain 2-4 kg in the coming and following seasons for supporting modularity. For me it is a new parameter to the game because of the cost cap.

I wouldn't call it "gaming". It's just being clever. There is less waste as well so that's an added benefit.

Not sure if English is your 1st language or not, but you've took the wrong meaning to his statement. He didn't mean it as try to get one over on the system
Just that it is a extra dimension to F1 development.

[Henk_v]

Well... one positive thing of the failure of the W13 might be that MB knew very early in the season what needed a full redesign and could start early. Maybe other teams waited for the second half of the season to pan out before finally deciding what to overhaul and what to carry over.

Also a homologated W14 tub could be considered early in respect to the restof the field, but also very late compared to RB.

[jordanb]

Well... one positive thing of the failure of the W13 might be that MB knew very early in the season what needed a full redesign and could start early. Maybe other teams waited for the second half of the season to pan out before finally deciding what to overhaul and what to carry over.

Also a homologated W14 tub could be considered early in respect to the restof the field, but also very late compared to RB.

If they didn't know what exactly was wrong with W13, how could they have decided which new design would work, early in the season?

[Henk_v]

Its much easier to say you are baffled than to say you know what the issue is but can't fix it. Especially in the race 2 debrief.

And if you indeed do not know whats wrong with your design after a few races, are you going to gamble you'll find out?

Remember Mercedes reported they knew where they derailed in their design? They probably have known for a bit of time before the report.
If you know, you can trace back your steps and start in the direction you 'd go in in hindsight. No need to understand or fix a development route you are going to abandon.

[jordanb]

Its much easier to say you are baffled than to say you know what the issue is but can't fix it. Especially in the race 2 debrief.

And if you indeed do not know whats wrong with your design after a few races, are you going to gamble you'll find out?

Remember Mercedes reported they knew where they derailed in their design? They probably have known for a bit of time before the report.
If you know, you can trace back your steps and start in the direction you 'd go in in hindsight. No need to understand or fix a development route you are going to abandon.

If you don't know exactly what's wrong in your current design and why, how would you know you won't be wrong in the new design?

[Henk_v]

Because they stated they knew where they went wrong. They identified the exact decision that took them on the wrong path accoring to their own words.

Not knowing how to fix your chosen path does not automatically mean it will change your mind about reverting back to that decision and working from there.

But who knows...just speculation...

[jordanb]

Because they stated they knew where they went wrong. They identified the exact decision that took them on the wrong path accoring to their own words.

Not knowing how to fix your chosen path does not automatically mean it will change your mind about reverting back to that decision and working from there.

But who knows...just speculation...

It was in October that Elliott made that revelation. It wasn't early in the season which would have given them clear direction for their next design. They spent most part of the season trying to understand the problem in the design. That effort put in discovery of the root of the problem wouldn't have allowed them to move onto a new design early in the season.

[e30ernest]

I do think it is one thing to know what is wrong with the W13, and another thing to know how to fix it in the context of the W13.

So they could have known what was wrong with the W13 so they are able to fix it for the W14. However, they could not make the same fix on the W13 because it would have been more difficult to adapt it to an existing design.

[Mchamilton]

Isn't this meant to be a speculation thread? Rather than just chatting crap about whether and when they knew about last years problems and whether they're able to correct it blah blah bullshit.

[Vaexa]

Isn't this meant to be a speculation thread? Rather than just chatting crap about whether and when they knew about last years problems and whether they're able to correct it blah blah bullshit.

Isn't this a factor relevant to the design of the W14, and thus relevant to speculation on it?

[f1jcw]

I wonder how teams will handle testing. Only 3 days, will they try for performance right away or do the usual obscure running.

[Henk_v]

Because they stated they knew where they went wrong. They identified the exact decision that took them on the wrong path accoring to their own words.

Not knowing how to fix your chosen path does not automatically mean it will change your mind about reverting back to that decision and working from there.

But who knows...just speculation...

It was in October that Elliott made that revelation. It wasn't early in the season which would have given them clear direction for their next design. They spent most part of the season trying to understand the problem in the design. That effort put in discovery of the root of the problem wouldn't have allowed them to move onto a new design early in the season.

As I said, the time they reported it might deviate from the time they knew.

Why would they passionately initiate/support a TD if they do not know how it will pan out for the W14?
I think one can safely assume talks were well on their way before we knew a TD was considered and this was well before the summer break.

But I'll stop speculating