Mercedes W12

[NoDivergence]

Most of the rear stability seems to be in slower corner exits, which is mechanically limited rather than aero.

In my opinion Mercedes problems are not just due to track conditions and/or the time they lost yesterday: this morning Hamilton had BIG oversteer out of both slow and high-speed corners and Valtteri does have the same problem (he has just lost control of his car in turn 11). Furthermore, a mechanic has just put flow viz on the rear wing. That's why I believe they have some aero-related problems at the rear, it's like their rear wing is stalling. I remember Silverstone 2018 when both Williams had to start from the pitlane because they changed the RW which made the diffuser stall. Lastly, from TV it seems like the W12 rear wing had a wide separation zone in the middle which may lead to some instability. I'm not an expert, but there are some clues that make me think their RW is stalling...any thought?

If you check some pics from last years car I think they always had that separation line about half way up the wing. Which always seemed odd.

It's actually not that odd. At very high AOA (45 degrees to 50 deg), you will still make more downforce with some lower surface separation. It's just less efficient.

[F1Krof]

Bottas' run on softs was yukky. It didn't look Mercy on board! Something quite icky going on as it doesn't look good at all.

[NoDivergence]

Bottas' run on softs was yukky. It didn't look Mercy on board! Something quite icky going on as it doesn't look good at all.

Looked heavy on fuel. Like full tanks level

[mkay]

Bottas' run on softs was yukky. It didn't look Mercy on board! Something quite icky going on as it doesn't look good at all.

Looked heavy on fuel. Like full tanks level

Wouldn't a heavy car understeer/be lazy as opposed to look twitchy and oversteery?

[edgelo]

They have a more conventional floor now, without all that bumps and curvatures, i think.

Maybe a less extreme bur more consistent solution?

[NoDivergence]

Bottas' run on softs was yukky. It didn't look Mercy on board! Something quite icky going on as it doesn't look good at all.

Looked heavy on fuel. Like full tanks level

Wouldn't a heavy car understeer/be lazy as opposed to look twitchy and oversteery?

It looked pretty lazy to me (change of direction). It had much much less oversteer/wheelspin than the previous runs.

Car still needs work on setup, but it's starting to come together.

[F1Krof]

They have a more conventional floor now, without all that bumps and curvatures, i think.

Maybe a less extreme bur more consistent solution?

How did you notice?

[cplchanb]

Bottas' run on softs was yukky. It didn't look Mercy on board! Something quite icky going on as it doesn't look good at all.

And just like that they went purple to the top of the timesheets. Still early days yet and alot more work needed but we can clearly see the problem solving capabilities of the merc juggernaut

[HungarianRacer]

Minimum speeds in corners look really good even on the harder tyres (Bottas was the only driver I've seen consistently around the 80 km/h mark in T8, also barely dipping bellow 160 km/h in T11), the constant entry & exit snap oversteer is certianly concerning though as it could very well be a sign of stalling aero.

[SiLo]

Anyone checked what speeds they have been doing? They don't look slow in the corners, just a bit twitchy.

[OO7]

How long did he observe cars passing through turn 11? Also, cars may be on entirely different programmes right now given the shorter testing schedule.

So far, Mercedes has been the least stable car and it's difficult to argue against that. That being said, yesterday's gearbox issues and resulting lack of proper track time for a baseline setup probably aren't helping.

Can Mercedes replicate McLaren's diffuser trick? Some on reddit think that it may not be possible if the fences are attached to the gearbox casing (as that would require tokens).

Doesn't really matter to me, the fact is in his eyes the Mercedes looked much better compared to itself the pervious day.

I not even sure if McLaren have spotted a 'trick' with their diffuser, it may just be a different design and it's not attached to the gearbox casing, that would compromise its performance.

[NoDivergence]

How long did he observe cars passing through turn 11? Also, cars may be on entirely different programmes right now given the shorter testing schedule.

So far, Mercedes has been the least stable car and it's difficult to argue against that. That being said, yesterday's gearbox issues and resulting lack of proper track time for a baseline setup probably aren't helping.

Can Mercedes replicate McLaren's diffuser trick? Some on reddit think that it may not be possible if the fences are attached to the gearbox casing (as that would require tokens).

Doesn't really matter to me, the fact is in his eyes the Mercedes looked much better compared to itself the pervious day.

I not even sure if McLaren have spotted a 'trick' with their diffuser, it may just be a different design and it's not attached to the gearbox casing, that would compromise its performance.

Just watching the laps in the second half, the car seems much better behaved than yesterday. They can actually take somewhat decent lines and not go off track. Mercedes is getting there. With some more laps tomorrow and the shakedown after, they should be in a decent place with two weeks more of sim/dyno work and free practice.

[mkay]

How long did he observe cars passing through turn 11? Also, cars may be on entirely different programmes right now given the shorter testing schedule.

So far, Mercedes has been the least stable car and it's difficult to argue against that. That being said, yesterday's gearbox issues and resulting lack of proper track time for a baseline setup probably aren't helping.

Can Mercedes replicate McLaren's diffuser trick? Some on reddit think that it may not be possible if the fences are attached to the gearbox casing (as that would require tokens).

Doesn't really matter to me, the fact is in his eyes the Mercedes looked much better compared to itself the pervious day.

I not even sure if McLaren have spotted a 'trick' with their diffuser, it may just be a different design and it's not attached to the gearbox casing, that would compromise its performance.

The Merc looked awful for most of the day until they bolted C4/C5 with a well-rubbered and cool track. Even then, the car still looked twitchy and oversteery.

[HungarianRacer]

Anyone checked what speeds they have been doing? They don't look slow in the corners, just a bit twitchy.

Bottas' personal best min. speeds in the last 50 minutes: 82 km/h in T8, 80 km/h in T10, 162 km/h in T11, 142 km/h in T13, 134 km/h in T14.

I doubt anyone apart from Perez was touching those speeds...

[NoDivergence]

How long did he observe cars passing through turn 11? Also, cars may be on entirely different programmes right now given the shorter testing schedule.

So far, Mercedes has been the least stable car and it's difficult to argue against that. That being said, yesterday's gearbox issues and resulting lack of proper track time for a baseline setup probably aren't helping.

Can Mercedes replicate McLaren's diffuser trick? Some on reddit think that it may not be possible if the fences are attached to the gearbox casing (as that would require tokens).

Doesn't really matter to me, the fact is in his eyes the Mercedes looked much better compared to itself the pervious day.

I not even sure if McLaren have spotted a 'trick' with their diffuser, it may just be a different design and it's not attached to the gearbox casing, that would compromise its performance.

The Merc looked awful for most of the day until they bolted C4/C5 with a well-rubbered and cool track. Even then, the car still looked twitchy and oversteery.

It looked totally fine on its 1'35/36 12 lap stint. that was on C2.