Spoutnik wrote: ↑21 Feb 2023, 22:02
Merc improved a lot at the end of last season : Austin, Mexico, Brazil... I do think they understand a bit more how to improve the car, they erased a bit their correlation issues.
The real question mark for me is the drag/the engine. It's impossible to get meaningful result with such a drag, such a low speed trap, it was ridiculous on many occasions (Hamilton vs Verstappen at Austin or Zandvoort, Hamilton passed back instantely after overtaking both Leclerc and Perez at Silverstone without DRS...).
Vanja has done some CFD simulations which heavily imply the new design is much less draggy. The problem is whether they lost downforce with this evolution.
The two things that both Hamilton and Russell have mentioned in clear terms in passing is that they shaved weight and they reduced drag.
Reading between the lines, no one is talking about the downforce. George went on to ramble about "wondering if the downforce will be there when you get on the brakes". It was a curious remark to me.
The team seem confident about the drag reduction and the weight reduction. The whispers in this supposed German Media and the other notes suggest that the downforce numbers may be coming up short. this could mean a lot of things....After all, Williams is always confident about their drag levels
A lion must kill its prey.