And still they almost finished 3rd and 4th.zibby43 wrote: ↑03 Jul 2019, 20:48"The Mercedes is packaged so tightly at the rear that in this heatwave, at this altitude, its bodywork needed to be opened up significantly more than that of either Ferrari or Red Bull. The extra area of radiator outlet peeking above the suspension at the base of the engine cover was visibly greater on the Mercedes than its rivals. This not only interrupts an aerodynamically sensitive area around the diffuser, but that hotter air is less dense, thereby less effective in creating the pressure differentials that in turn create downforce."Juzh wrote: ↑03 Jul 2019, 20:26But why? It's not like other teams don't do this as well, everyone had their cars opened up moreso than usual, just not to the extent mercedes had to do in this particular race. I don't think bodywork alone was worth 0,5s. It's also funny how the deficit keeps getting bigger as days go by, started with 0.5s, went up to 0,6s , now we talking about 0,7s already??
"So the Mercedes’ usual downforce advantage was reduced, possibly even cancelled out. And even though the lap time cost of the car’s extra drag over the Ferrari was reduced by the high altitude, that altitude took more of Mercedes’ lap time (relative to Ferrari) than it gave."
In terms of the total time lost, you have time lost from Merc's aero advantage being cancelled out (which was the largest chunk, according to multiple sources), and then additional time lost in the race from Mercedes having to turn down the PU and use more conservative engine modes. Not to mention all the time lost from having to lift and coast. That's why the lap time lost delta is growing, as more information becomes available.
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/repo ... ace-report
And Valtteri wasn't so far behind Verstappen, knowing these issues...
