Mercedes W15

[Gr1ff]

Looking at the render of the W15 they left both wishbone positions. Following this logic perhaps we can see the first upgrade already to the sidepod area?

[CaribouBread]

...

Now all the engineers have to do is solve the bouncing issue that riders regularly complained about in Bahrain. The so-called porpoising occurred mainly when the chassis of the Silver Arrow was lowered far down in order to extract the maximum aero performance of the underbody. For the start of the season, a compromise is once again required in terms of setup.

From the end of the article.

[AR3-GP]

iirc, James Allison said something along those lines in one of the videos that was posted here.

[Jdn1327]

...

Now all the engineers have to do is solve the bouncing issue that riders regularly complained about in Bahrain. The so-called porpoising occurred mainly when the chassis of the Silver Arrow was lowered far down in order to extract the maximum aero performance of the underbody. For the start of the season, a compromise is once again required in terms of setup.

From the end of the article.

Weren't they running the most extreme setup in order to trigger the bouncing? I think it was to help with correlation as well. At the end of the test the bouncing had gone completely.

[DiogoBrand]

Looking at the render of the W15 they left both wishbone positions. Following this logic perhaps we can see the first upgrade already to the sidepod area?

https://ibb.co/Sc1Msz1

I think the more likely situation is that the render is from earlier in development, rather than hinting at a future upgrade.

[Goblin42]

Looks like Mercedes is using same rear wing as last year , with a deep scoop in the middle, last year the DRS delta wasn't that great, even in preseason test the top speed wasn't that great but at the same time allison said that they did some mods to improve top speed for it, maybe a lower engine mode was to blame

[Formula 1 fan]

So it seems that Mercedes will not bring brand new rear wing this season, they will use last season rear wings?

[cplchanb]

So it seems that Mercedes will not bring brand new rear wing this season, they will use last season rear wings?

So you're making that statement BEFORE the first race of the season with 23 more to go afterwards....???

[Formula 1 fan]

So it seems that Mercedes will not bring brand new rear wing this season, they will use last season rear wings?

So you're making that statement BEFORE the first race of the season with 23 more to go afterwards....???

I worded it wrong, I meant the race in Bahrain,I didn't mean the whole season, I'm sorry.

[r85]

So it seems that Mercedes will not bring brand new rear wing this season, they will use last season rear wings?

Medium downforce maybe not, but their high downforce spec has been updated. I only saw that that the wingtips are more round instead of squared off like the last 2 years.

[SiLo]

Looks like Mercedes is using same rear wing as last year , with a deep scoop in the middle, last year the DRS delta wasn't that great, even in preseason test the top speed wasn't that great but at the same time allison said that they did some mods to improve top speed for it, maybe a lower engine mode was to blame

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHatkPoXoAA ... &name=orig

They should be faster this year anyway with an improved cooling package for the engine.

[Mansell89]

Looks like Mercedes is using same rear wing as last year , with a deep scoop in the middle, last year the DRS delta wasn't that great, even in preseason test the top speed wasn't that great but at the same time allison said that they did some mods to improve top speed for it, maybe a lower engine mode was to blame

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHatkPoXoAA ... &name=orig

They should be faster this year anyway with an improved cooling package for the engine.

Forgive me for what might appear a sillly question, but is that because the cooling config packaging enables better aero/efficiency, or do you mean the engine cooling enables higher engine mode?

[SiLo]

Looks like Mercedes is using same rear wing as last year , with a deep scoop in the middle, last year the DRS delta wasn't that great, even in preseason test the top speed wasn't that great but at the same time allison said that they did some mods to improve top speed for it, maybe a lower engine mode was to blame

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHatkPoXoAA ... &name=orig

They should be faster this year anyway with an improved cooling package for the engine.

Forgive me for what might appear a sillly question, but is that because the cooling config packaging enables better aero/efficiency, or do you mean the engine cooling enables higher engine mode?

I believe the previous two years they ran slightly compromised cooling packages for aero reasons, so a more traditional sidepod allows them to cool more effectively and run the engine at higher modes for longer.

[Mansell89]

They should be faster this year anyway with an improved cooling package for the engine.

Forgive me for what might appear a sillly question, but is that because the cooling config packaging enables better aero/efficiency, or do you mean the engine cooling enables higher engine mode?

I believe the previous two years they ran slightly compromised cooling packages for aero reasons, so a more traditional sidepod allows them to cool more effectively and run the engine at higher modes for longer.

Thanks, Silo- how interesting! Any ideas if the customer PUs were running slightly compromised too, or would their cooling solutions have potentially allowed them an advantage over the works team?

[atanatizante]

The adjustable suspension pickup points are definitely nothing new, being featured on all manner of racing cars for decades.

The pickup point on the W15 chassis would be consistent with the area of the bulkhead where the torsion bars react through. Back in the day, the rear leg would anchor at the dash bulkhead, but with the drivers feet now behind the axle centreline, its all different.
The fact that the current tunnel cars are much more height and pitch sensitive than previous generation cars has brought back the need for adjustability. In this cost cap era, having a more modular, adjustable design to the car is a smarter option. The Ferrari seems to be built this way too.

The difference in positions on the W15 front end is quite large, traditionally an adjustment of 10 -15mm was considered significant...

The Dallara F3 cars from the 90's had internal front suspension pick up 'pockets' that could be turned upside down, or spaced out with ferrules to alter geometry.

Adjustable pick ups are much more prevalent at the rear on the gearbox casings, to fine tune anti squat geometries. A recent video by Driver 61 shows a 1997 Jordan F1 gearbox with the multiple pick up points

Indeed, it was very normal to see single-seaters, especially the junior formulae, having multiple pick-up points—mostly at the rear, on the gearbox—as you mentioned.

These alternate pick-up points were used to retain certain roll-center heights and camber gain settings for varying ride heights and/or different tire characteristics across the different national series.

The affect on roll-center and camber gain characteristics with this change on W15—roll-center height will be raised and camber gain will have been increased by lowering even only the rear leg pick-up point—is something that has not been mentioned in all the “technical” analyses probably because of all the current hype (or misinformation) around “anti-dive” by the said “analysts”.

One could question why they didn't do the same trick at the rear suspension as they did at the front one ... or just anti-squat effect is not so important on the F1 car as it is on the slower single-seater formulas? then how about the rear tyre management due to the anti-squat setup, could you please enlighten us with some info ...