Mercedes W12

[Stormblessed]

Here are my main guesses

• Front floor structure seems like a plausible target as it would directly relate to the floor cuts. As a single token item, it would most likely be paired with the plank as the second token item.

• Water-oil and water-water coolers is plausible given the new engine intake system and the intercoolers

• Wheel rims are plausible as they can be used to control tire temperature. We know that Mercedes have struggled to generate tire temperatures this season

Competitors are allowed only 2 tokens. Therefore, if a single token item was selected, then another single token item must have been used alongside to consume 2 tokens. Alternatively, one double token item can be selected.

Excellent work, mate!! Don't let the rival teams get their hands on this list, won't help the c'ship battle

I feel wheel rims could be most probable ones. They had mentioned in one of the videos that they were looking to widen the setup window. This could help with the temperatures and possibly(?) a better balance between saturday and sunday pace. Leaving out Austria as outliers for W12, last race at France was better one for Merc pace wise. Better outcome if they had qualified on pole. So maybe that would be their focus in my "novice" opinion.

[nzjrs]

Here are my main guesses

• Front floor structure seems like a plausible target as it would directly relate to the floor cuts. As a single token item, it would most likely be paired with the plank as the second token item.

They Joked that the token spend would become clear to rivals in time. Has either MB been up on a truck or crane after a crash such that photo-journalists or teams could get photos under the car? that might explain why it has/has not yet become obvious.

[BSchelbergen]

Perhaps we will see where the tokens went with the upcoming Silverstone update, in the regulations 22.7.4 it is stated that the FIA must be provided with a detailed schematic of the intended changes (on the token parts) by september 21st 2020. It doesn't say they should be on the car by the first race of 2021(at least I couldn't find it). Let's hope they found a few tenths of a second [-o< , even though Hamilton doesn't think it will close the gap with the RB16B.

[littlebigcat]

They Joked that the token spend would become clear to rivals in time.

It could be clear the token spend was 0

[Cassius]

Perhaps we will see where the tokens went with the upcoming Silverstone update, in the regulations 22.7.4 it is stated that the FIA must be provided with a detailed schematic of the intended changes (on the token parts) by september 21st 2020. It doesn't say they should be on the car by the first race of 2021(at least I couldn't find it). Let's hope they found a few tenths of a second [-o< , even though Hamilton doesn't think it will close the gap with the RB16B.

If it is an improvement there is no reason not to put it on the car from race one. I don't think they need all the time from September to July to produce or test it.

[dans79]

Perhaps we will see where the tokens went with the upcoming Silverstone update, in the regulations 22.7.4 it is stated that the FIA must be provided with a detailed schematic of the intended changes (on the token parts) by september 21st 2020. It doesn't say they should be on the car by the first race of 2021(at least I couldn't find it). Let's hope they found a few tenths of a second [-o< , even though Hamilton doesn't think it will close the gap with the RB16B.

If it is an improvement there is no reason not to put it on the car from race one. I don't think they need all the time from September to July to produce or test it.

It's not always that simple. Sometimes an update might not work as well as expected with something that's already on the car. In some cases it can even lead to a performance decrease. Thus teams remove an update from a car until they can identify the issue either by reworking the update, or updating something else on the car.

Given the complications of preparing for next year and the decrease in CFD and tunnel time allocated to the sharp end of the grid, fixing/updating something isn't nearly as fast as it once was.

[zibby43]

This is the most shocking visual evidence that I've seen that indicates the tremendous amounts of rear downforce the W12 lost compared to the W11.

This RW looks even bigger than the W10's, which was the king of dirty downforce.

[b2bL44]

This is the most shocking visual evidence that I've seen that indicates the tremendous amounts of rear downforce the W12 lost compared to the W11.

This RW looks even bigger than the W10's, which was the king of dirty downforce.

https://www.formu1a.uno/wp-content/uplo ... 8-down.jpg

Confirmation from formu1a.uno of what we've long suspected, Mercedes are having to compensate for the loss of rear downforce from the aero rule changes by running a bigger rear wing. A 2 year step backwards.



Analysis: Mercedes W12, not lacking power but aerodynamic efficiency.

It's more and more Verstappen show in this 2021 World Championship. We never really believed in the 'copy-paste' 2020 season because the regulatory changes, once analysed in detail, were much more important and radical than initially expected.

Since they were tied to the 2020 cars, it was clear that those who were carrying a car with some endemic flaws, like Ferrari, could not expect to fight to win the world championship this year. However, there was also the risk that those who were starting from a very competitive car could lose performance through poor adaptation to the rule changes. This was the case with Mercedes and Racing Point, now Aston Martin.

In the case of the world champion team, the perfect combination of aerodynamics and mechanics found with the W11 has been broken, also thanks to a forward shift in the engine and centre of pressure. With a further advancement of the latter (all the greater, the greater was the value of aerodynamic load generated by the single-seater), due to the new 2021 regulations, the rear end remained 'off balance': the W12 thus works in a very small operating window. Setup changes have become rather limited in order to avoid problems on either axle.

After a third of the world championship we find ourselves with Verstappen and Red Bull at the top of the world rankings. In the last five races, the Dutchman has taken 46 points from Lewis Hamilton, 73 even from Red Bull over Mercedes.

The seven-time world champion entered the second Austrian weekend with good impressions. Unlike the RB16B, the W12 at the Austrian GP was in the same specification as the previous weekend and improvements could only be found through setup optimisation.

Last week, Hamilton spent many hours in the simulator at Brackley finding 'promising' setups, but once on track they didn't give the desired results. That's why, from FP2, the Anglo-Caribbean's W12 took a step backwards, using the 'base' set-up from the previous weekend (Styria Gp) that Valtteri Bottas had used in the first hour of practice.

Friday's low temperatures had helped Mercedes get closer to Max Verstappen's RB16B but when the asphalt exceeded 50°C, both W12s were unable to extract the maximum from the C5 compound, with Lando Norris' McLaren also paying the price. Mercedes didn't expect this.

Third front wing in five races for Red Bull. Changes in the mainplane area, which connects to the 'neutral' part, and the inner part of the flaps where the important Y250 vortex comes off.

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, took to the track with a further updated RB16B: a new front wing specification, his third in five races, new bargeboards and confirmation of the shark tooth diffuser, also available to Checo Perez this weekend.

The Dutchman, along with his technical staff, opted for a slightly heavier set-up than the one used the week before to make the C5 compound work better in qualifying.

This allowed the W12 to halve the gap on the straights (just over a tenth), but the gap also opened up in the corners, due to Lewis Hamilton's W12 not making full use of the C5 compound. The comparison with the equally-engined MCL35M (Mercedes) was also interesting: Hamilton lost almost five tenths to Lando Norris in a straight line, making up a couple of tenths in the corners, with a W12 that was excellent in entry even against the Red Bull.

There is no doubt that the car from the world champion team is the one, along with Aston Martin, that has suffered most from the new regulations. In addition to the fact that the perfect marriage of aerodynamics and mechanics found with the W11 is no longer there, its important aerodynamic efficiency has also been cancelled.

An engineer from a competing team told Formu1a.uno that Mercedes has taken a two-year step backwards in that respect, reverting to the values of the much 'resistant' (to forward motion) W10.

We tried to verify this with the available material, comparing the rear wings used in the last three seasons in Austria by Mercedes, as that aerodynamic macro-component is one of the heaviest in terms of drag.

The result is a Mercedes that is very rear loaded compared to last season. This penalises the W12 on the straights not only in comparison to Red Bull but also, and above all, to the McLaren-powered peer.

So it's not a question of engine and hp as Hamilton would have us believe. An advantage that until the French GP was in Mercedes' favour, due to the problems manifested by the Japanese PU in Bahrain, now resolved thanks to the second Honda unit brought to the track at Paul Ricard. According to what has been gathered, the PUs are now very close in both qualifying and race conditions, with a gap quantified by the competitors in the order of 5 bhp. Second Ferrari to the advantage of Mercedes, second Renault to the advantage of Honda. But it makes little difference given the very small gap.

Lewis Hamilton lost even more aerodynamic load at the rear of the car during the Austrian GP: for more than half of the race, 30 points were missing (teams measure aerodynamic load in points), which in Austria is equivalent to 6 tenths of a second per lap at the start, rising as the tyres wear out prematurely. This problem destroyed the aerodynamic balance of his W12, which began to slide and put undue stress on the rear tyres. The Low Rake set-up used by Mercedes and Aston Martin was penalised the most by the new 2021 regulations.

"I think it was around lap 30, coming out of Turn 10 [the last corner]," said Toto Wolff. "There's quite an aggressive kerb there. We saw that it was not a driving error but a problem with the component that gave way."

So Hamilton was not only slower, but also had more tyre wear; this forced Mercedes to make a second pit stop where the mechanics, in addition to the tyre change, also removed 1 degree of front wing to balance the car as the centre of pressure had moved 'too far forward'.

However, even without this major problem Verstappen's Red Bull was uncatchable for the seven-time world champion. "I think we would have been satisfied with second and third place, which realistically was the best we could have achieved; Max's pace was just too strong for us," continued Shovlin.

The Mercedes W12, as we wrote last week, is a car that has been placated in its performance and understanding. "We haven't been particularly strong here in general," said the British engineer. "You don't see that so much in the comparisons with Red Bull, but by the way we were put under pressure by McLaren in the second round. We haven't made any real progress here in either race."

That's why the upgrade package for Silverstone is highly anticipated as it should help unlock further potential, directly and indirectly, from a car at its most understanding and performing. Will it be enough? "We have a few new things for Silverstone, but I don't think they'll help us close the gap," said a sombre Lewis Hamilton in the post-Austria interview.

At Mercedes, however, they are not giving up, hoping that the characteristics of the last few tracks on which they raced have shifted the inertia of the world championship. This is why Silverstone, which has always been a great Mercedes stronghold, is not only a test for Ferrari but also and above all for the world champions.

https://www.formu1a.uno/analisi-mercede ... odinamica/

[zibby43]

At Mercedes, however, they are not giving up, hoping that the characteristics of the last few tracks on which they raced have shifted the inertia of the world championship. This is why Silverstone, which has always been a great Mercedes stronghold, is not only a test for Ferrari but also and above all for the world champions.[/i]

https://www.formu1a.uno/analisi-mercede ... odinamica/

Thank you for the excellent translation and for posting the article. I had just seen the photo floating around.

I am so curious as to what changes they’ll make to try to claw some efficiency back given the hardware restraints they’re working with.

[dans79]

At Mercedes, however, they are not giving up, hoping that the characteristics of the last few tracks on which they raced have shifted the inertia of the world championship. This is why Silverstone, which has always been a great Mercedes stronghold, is not only a test for Ferrari but also and above all for the world champions.[/i]

https://www.formu1a.uno/analisi-mercede ... odinamica/

Thank you for the excellent translation and for posting the article. I had just seen the photo floating around.

I am so curious as to what changes they’ll make to try to claw some efficiency back given the hardware restraints they’re working with.

All their issues are coming from the inability to seal the diffuser area because of the rear brake duct changes which hurt low rake cars more.

So they only really have two options, try and generate more vortices to somehow seal the floor and diffuser, or increase rake so they can try and use the rear brake ducks again too seal the diffuser.

As I see it those are the only two options that are going to give them a real chance of getting back into the championship fight.

[MartijnA3]

Makes sense that it's more the brake ducts than the cuts in the floor that's causing them issues.

I've looked up 2 images from the Austrian GP from last year and this year and you can see they've increased the rake.

[El Scorchio]

This is the most shocking visual evidence that I've seen that indicates the tremendous amounts of rear downforce the W12 lost compared to the W11.

This RW looks even bigger than the W10's, which was the king of dirty downforce.

https://www.formu1a.uno/wp-content/uplo ... 8-down.jpg

Confirmation from formu1a.uno of what we've long suspected, Mercedes are having to compensate for the loss of rear downforce from the aero rule changes by running a bigger rear wing. A 2 year step backwards.



Analysis: Mercedes W12, not lacking power but aerodynamic efficiency.

That's probably the best and most informative article I've read on this. Thanks for sharing!

It seems to confirm what many of us have suspected re: massive loss of downforce.

[darkpino]

I think the fact that RBR has a better understanding of the car also causes the fact that they are bringing a lot more (small) updates.

In previous years it was the other way around with Mercedes bringing small updates almost every race and was RBR the ones with less but bigger updates if my memory serves me right

[El Scorchio]

I think the fact that RBR has a better understanding of the car also causes the fact that they are bringing a lot more (small) updates.

In previous years it was the other way around with Mercedes bringing small updates almost every race and was RBR the ones with less but bigger updates if my memory serves me right

I'm don't think it's (lack of) understanding of the car. I'm sure they know exactly in theory what it would take to claw back all the loss and maybe more, but it's risk/reward in terms of what performance they can actually gain given the tight restrictions on what they are allowed to change on the car from 2020-21, and what resource/finance they can allocate to it.

The philosophy of the car is a fundamental mismatch (compared to others) with this year's rules stripping it of downforce, and putting little aero trinkets on it is likely to be a waste of time and money as it's likely to only gain a tenth here or there. They need something massive to the tune of 0.5 of a second to make it worthwhile. Maybe that's what is coming with the one off upgrade, but I don't think anyone should hold their breath unless they've figured out a way to cure their endemic lack of downforce and can stop running huge wings. For RBR it's well worth trying to find the extra tenth or so with small aero upgrades because that's going to bring them the titles. For MB, all it's going to do is make them a closer runner up which simply isn't worth it given the need for 2022 development.

The unique circumstances of this season's rules just hasn't worked out for them, and there's probably very little they can do to change or adapt to them.

[darkpino]

I think the fact that RBR has a better understanding of the car also causes the fact that they are bringing a lot more (small) updates.

In previous years it was the other way around with Mercedes bringing small updates almost every race and was RBR the ones with less but bigger updates if my memory serves me right

I'm don't think it's (lack of) understanding of the car. I'm sure they know exactly in theory what it would take to claw back all the loss and maybe more, but it's risk/reward in terms of what performance they can actually gain given the tight restrictions on what they are allowed to change on the car from 2020-21, and what resource/finance they can allocate to it.

The philosophy of the car is a fundamental mismatch (compared to others) with this year's rules stripping it of downforce, and putting little aero trinkets on it is likely to be a waste of time and money as it's likely to only gain a tenth here or there. They need something massive to the tune of 0.5 of a second to make it worthwhile. Maybe that's what is coming with the one off upgrade, but I don't think anyone should hold their breath unless they've figured out a way to cure their endemic lack of downforce and can stop running huge wings. For RBR it's well worth trying to find the extra tenth or so with small aero upgrades because that's going to bring them the titles. For MB, all it's going to do is make them a closer runner up which simply isn't worth it given the need for 2022 development.

The unique circumstances of this season's rules just hasn't worked out for them, and there's probably very little they can do to change or adapt to them.

But that doesn't explain why they brought these small changes in the past even though they had quiete something in the bag without those updates?