PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑22 Feb 2023, 05:49
Side pod is not make or break guys.
Any concept changing will be with the front wing and the floor.
Certainly, the underbody has the greatest influence, but it's not as if the rest of the car no longer plays any role at all. As before, it's the sum of the parts that makes a car fast, even if the underbody now has an (even) greater share. But of course the rest also contributes to the car's performance, including the sidepods. And teams like Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas or Alfa Romeo would not have looked at the Zeropod concept again. Also, it was obvious in 2022 that teams improved a lot after they changed their sidepods. So I think the sidepod concept does play a role. Finally, sidepods have a great influence on the airflow to the rear of the car and thus also contribute to the performance of the underbody. So I don't buy the story that it hardly plays a role. In 2022, the steps taken by the teams after they changed the sidepods were too big. Even though you can't put everything down to that, of course, and the underbody is certainly the most important thing in terms of performance. But they are definitely a factor that contributes to performance, because one has a great influence on the other.
It is therefore quite worrying that, in addition to the German media, the Italian media are now also picking up the reports hat the W14 is probably not as big a leap as had been hoped. And Mercedes has apparently already confirmed changes in the sidepod area and told that they won't be able to fight for victories at the beginning of the season.
"The first version of the W14 would not fully satisfy the engineers of the former world champion team. "Last year we had some problems and we addressed them, trying to figure out what they were and how to solve them. We think we have solved some of them, while we still have to work on others," Hamilton said. Indeed, work is already underway at Brackley on the first major package of aerodynamic developments, which, at least to date, is scheduled around the Baku Grand Prix. "For the bellies, this is a first version but past the first races, they will change a bit," the Austrian TP spoiled. From these updates Mercedes expects a real step forward, not that the W14 isn't compared to the W13, that can correct further problems, ideally closing that gap that may still be there in the very early part of the season compared to Red Bull and Ferrari. "I don't expect to be in the fight for victory in the first few GPs of the season while I have more confidence for afterwards, when the first updates on the W14 will come." indeed, Lewis Hamilton said on the sidelines of the presentation of his new 'black' weapon."
So if Mercedes seems to be (already) working on the sidepods again - it doesn't exactly show that they are so unimportant. And frankly, I think that Mercedes' "enlargement" of the Zeropods alone shows that the disadvantages discussed last year are a fact, since it is exactly this enlargement that in interaction with the mid-wing vortex, the front-wing tip vortex and the outer strakes tries to minimize these disadvantages. From what you hear from other teams, this concept does have promising advantages, but it's too complex and there are other ways to achieve the same performance in a simpler way that also have more potential. But it's definitely great to see and I'm grateful to Mercedes for not taking the easy way out. It will be exciting to see if they get it right or get bogged down in the complexity of it.
Full Article :
https://www.formu1a.uno/mercedes-pretat ... sulla-w14/
Moreover, I also trust Mercedes that these are already the first tactical games and sandbagging. We have to wait for the tests before we can say anything. And even then it will be difficult as we know. This year i think only the first race will show the truth.