Mercedes W14

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[djones]

I’d guess Mercedes have done a lot of favours for Aston in the past, including letting them carbon copy a previous car.

Mercedes will likely call in them favours and Aston will tell them what the trick is. So I half expect any concept changes to align more to how the Aston car looks.

[SiLo]

Maybe a bit part of the trick is actually moving the cockpit back? Mercedes have one of the most advanced cockpits on the grid, with Red Bull and Aston having it quite far back.

[PlatinumZealot]

Cockpits are at maximum distance from the front wheels. It's an easy meal and a no-brainer to do so with this lack of bargeboard formula.

Lewis Hamilton seems to suggest that the lack of balance is a big issue. Could point towards the centre of pressure of the floor or the front suspension...

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-ham ... isten-w14/

[JimHe]

Poor balance is still a result of lacking df. The team are compromising suspension stiffness, floor height and wing angles. I don’t think the team is making mistakes of weight balance getting into second ground effect season. I remember toto argued the w14 couldn’t run at the same floor height as rb and aston. So the trick may lies in front suspension. Given the arms are interfering with airflow towards floor entrance& radiators.

[Vanja #66]

How did they get from a car that wants to be run as low as possible to a car that can't run low enough over the winter?

[Femi]

How did they get from a car that wants to be run as low as possible to a car that can't run low enough over the winter?

I suspect that's a side effect of solving poisoning. I could be wrong though.

[Venturiation]

How did they get from a car that wants to be run as low as possible to a car that can't run low enough over the winter?

I suspect that's a side effect of solving poisoning. I could be wrong though.

or they removed porpoising by removing downforce and if they they bring more downforce it may come back again

[JimHe]

How did they get from a car that wants to be run as low as possible to a car that can't run low enough over the winter?

Ground effect cars always want to run close to the ground to generate df. But W14 cannot set similar minimum running height as amr/rb otherwise porpoising will happen. So they are forced to rise up the underfloor but deteriorate downforce level — that’s partly why drivers complain W14 lacking df and worse tyre degradation.

[Matt2725]

How did they get from a car that wants to be run as low as possible to a car that can't run low enough over the winter?

I suspect that's a side effect of solving poisoning. I could be wrong though.

or they removed porpoising by removing downforce and if they they bring more downforce it may come back again

I thought the reason behind the barn door rear wings last season was precisely because they couldn't generate enough downforce from the floor?

It would appear they solved one part of the equation but not the other.

[AA_2019]

I suspect that's a side effect of solving poisoning. I could be wrong though.

or they removed porpoising by removing downforce and if they they bring more downforce it may come back again

I thought the reason behind the barn door rear wings last season was precisely because they couldn't generate enough downforce from the floor?

It would appear they solved one part of the equation but not the other.

They have solved their problems with this W14 aka W13B.

It has enough downforce to compete for the 2022 championship.

Trouble is that is now 2023

[SiLo]

Cockpits are at maximum distance from the front wheels. It's an easy meal and a no-brainer to do so with this lack of bargeboard formula.

Lewis Hamilton seems to suggest that the lack of balance is a big issue. Could point towards the centre of pressure of the floor or the front suspension...

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-ham ... isten-w14/

Are they? I thought it was pretty clear that a few teams had the cockpits farther back on the chassis.

[organic]

Cockpits are at maximum distance from the front wheels. It's an easy meal and a no-brainer to do so with this lack of bargeboard formula.

Lewis Hamilton seems to suggest that the lack of balance is a big issue. Could point towards the centre of pressure of the floor or the front suspension...

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-ham ... isten-w14/

Are they? I thought it was pretty clear that a few teams had the cockpits farther back on the chassis.

It is but some will continue to deny it despite the large amount of work that has gone into conclusive analysis in this area

[ringo]

Why is the floor so steep?
Is it a hollow internal space, or is the underside deep?
Very different from the other teams. Looks like a huge volume underneath.

[icantride]

Why is the floor so steep?
Is it a hollow internal space, or is the underside deep?
Very different from the other teams. Looks like a huge volume underneath.

I've been wondering that too since the launch. The top side looks far higher than the W13 ever was. The W13's top side of the floor did gradually get higher over the season. Whether that's because they're increasing the size of the tunnels underneath, or if they're just thickening the floor to stiffen it up. I suspect it's the former but until we get a nice shot of under the car we won't know for sure