Sieper wrote: ↑17 Jan 2023, 20:58
I think they will keep the zero pod idea, it does offer the highest total downforce.
Their highest downforce WT results came exclusively from the floor, sidepods had nothing to do with. The issue with bouncing even after Barca floor upgrade was due to excessive floor flapping, since zeropods left too much of it exposed.
wogx wrote: ↑17 Jan 2023, 22:03
Is it fair to say that downforce always creates drag, but drag is not always an indicator of downforce? Many say that those big, fat rear tires create a lot of drag in Mercedes' case.
Downforce does always induce drag (not by the same amount on different parts though) on an F1 car, since in the end the air goes up after the car, meaning there is a rearward projection of low pressure zones (eg. till 2022 diffuser comes after flat floor) - and this suction is what causes drag from the rear. Suction at the front creates thrust, obviously. And as you said - drag doesn't always mean downforce (eg tyres create lift, etc).
What teams are always chasing is efficient downforce, so the smallest drag penalty for overall downforce gained. It can happen that bigger changes can result with same drag for higher downforce, but this does not mean this extra downforce didn't create drag. It did, but in a better, more efficient way.
jordanb wrote: ↑18 Jan 2023, 04:41
I don't know where things gets missed. The very reason why ground effect has been brought back, is to cut the drag that comes from aero surfaces. As floor downforce doesn't produce aerodynamic drag, any more than the floors of the past, just for being physical bodies moving through high speed air, they are way more efficient means to produce downforce. Mercedes was unable produce as much downforce from the floor as RB and Ferrari, which forced them to run the car closer to the ground, causing bouncing and a lot of their downforce came from larger rear wing. Those were the primary problems of Mercedes. If they have to get rid of drag, they must find better floor design to enhance the downforce produced by ground effect and then cut down rear wing dependency. It's a myth they had more downforce hence drag than other two. It's their weaker floor and stronger rear wing.
I get what you're trying to say, but almost everything you wrote is the opposite
2022+ gen cars generate more drag than previous gen cars, and so does their floor (the rest is mostly tyre drag). Rules changed because venturi tunnel floors can generate more downforce independent of wings compared to flat floor, since wings lose a lot of downforce when they follow another car, making overtakes very hard.
W13 was designed to run very close to the ground, as Elliot said several times. Their initial floor created too much downforce and this caused bouncing in all conditions. Raising the car hurt their tyre management until Barcelona, and they had to do it to reduce bouncing. Barcelona floor generated a lot less downforce (less than RB and Ferrari) and they compensated for that with larger RW, but not from the start. They still ran the car very low to enable the tyres to work in their window. This still caused bouncing throughout the season due to unpredictable flapping of the rear part of the floor.
This article didn't seem to mention any internal rumours or insider information, looks like they simply made a rendering based on their own expectations and made-up info? Or I missed something.