Mercedes W17

[SiLo]

https://i.ibb.co/5h75M4TZ/20260204-203149.jpg

The floor corner detail on the mercedes

It’s really hard for me to get my bearings on this. What an I looking at and from what angle?

[organic]

https://i.ibb.co/5h75M4TZ/20260204-203149.jpg

The floor corner detail on the mercedes

It’s really hard for me to get my bearings on this. What an I looking at and from what angle?

Rear floor corner ahead of rear tyre

[Stu]

https://i.ibb.co/5h75M4TZ/20260204-203149.jpg

The floor corner detail on the mercedes

It’s really hard for me to get my bearings on this. What an I looking at and from what angle?

https://i.ibb.co/Hp14Vr8T/HAKeo2g-WUAEh-H05.jpg

Rear floor corner ahead of rear tyre

https://i.ibb.co/ksXgzMCg/20260204-203149.jpg

Not sure whether I’m seeing things, but that looks like an additional element above the floor surface!!?

[PlatinumZealot]

It’s really hard for me to get my bearings on this. What an I looking at and from what angle?

https://i.ibb.co/Hp14Vr8T/HAKeo2g-WUAEh-H05.jpg

Rear floor corner ahead of rear tyre

https://i.ibb.co/ksXgzMCg/20260204-203149.jpg

Not sure whether I’m seeing things, but that looks like an additional element above the floor surface!!?

Yes. Such things have been legal for ages. Stay within 50 mm of the floor and you can pretty much put anything.

[AR3-GP]

Suspicious

https://x.com/Reel_SonoDas/status/20190 ... 76/photo/2

[Stu]

Suspicious
https://i.postimg.cc/4Nf9v3Jc/image.png
https://x.com/Reel_SonoDas/status/20190 ... 76/photo/2

I noticed that too.
To be honest when I saw the VCARB actuator solution my first thought was why haven’t they mounted it underneath like a good-old-fashioned strake! Maybe that is what we are seeing here? Their post season Abu Dhabi test mule had a very groovy ‘Heath Robinson’ set-up, that looked to be outboard mounted (but that could have been due to the existing adjustment mechanism?).

[Lasssept]

[brakeboosted]

Suspicious
https://i.postimg.cc/4Nf9v3Jc/image.png
https://x.com/Reel_SonoDas/status/20190 ... 76/photo/2

I noticed that too.
To be honest when I saw the VCARB actuator solution my first thought was why haven’t they mounted it underneath like a good-old-fashioned strake! Maybe that is what we are seeing here? Their post season Abu Dhabi test mule had a very groovy ‘Heath Robinson’ set-up, that looked to be outboard mounted (but that could have been due to the existing adjustment mechanism?).

The actuators can only be in one of three places.

Those are just strakes mate. The actuator is in the nose. If you were in any doubt, the hole in the top of the nose is where the actuator is accessed to adjust static flap angles.

[zioture]

Hi everyone,



with the first 2026 cars appearing on track, I’ve been looking closely at how different teams are implementing front-wing active aerodynamics in Low Drag mode. One detail that stood out is that Mercedes (and Aston Martin) appear to actuate only the rearmost front-wing flap, while most teams — Ferrari included — are moving two elements.

We’ve put together a technical analysis explaining why this may be the case, focusing on wing structure, pylon attachment and load distribution, rather than just regulation interpretation.

The key point is that Mercedes’ front-wing pylons seem to structurally integrate the main element and first flap, leaving only the trailing element free to move. If that last flap carries a large share of the total load, flattening it could still deliver a strong drag reduction, potentially similar in effect to DRS, but with different balance implications.

Full analysis here (in English):
https://www.newsf1.it/f1-2026-why-merce ... on-martin/

I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts on whether this single-flap Low Drag approach could offer better efficiency, or if it risks limiting balance control compared to Ferrari’s two-flap solution.

[SB15]

Although kinda blurry, here are pictures of the rear suspension

[matteosc]

Sorry if I missed this topic begin discussed already or if this belongs to a different thread.

Rumors are that Mercede's engine has an additional "micro" combustion chamber, comunicating with the main one when the engine is cold. This is used to measure the compression ratio as 16:1. When the engine is warm, this "micro" combustion chamber is closed by thermal expansion and the effective compression ratio is increased.

Do you think this is actually doable? Considering that the latest news is that the compression ratio will now be measured with a warmed engine, does that mean that Mercedes will have to modify its engine?

[Farnborough]

Sorry if I missed this topic begin discussed already or if this belongs to a different thread.

Rumors are that Mercede's engine has an additional "micro" combustion chamber, comunicating with the main one when the engine is cold. This is used to measure the compression ratio as 16:1. When the engine is warm, this "micro" combustion chamber is closed by thermal expansion and the effective compression ratio is increased.

Do you think this is actually doable? Considering that the latest news is that the compression ratio will now be measured with a warmed engine, does that mean that Mercedes will have to modify its engine?

There's a whole dedicated thread on this topic viewtopic.php?t=32394&start=465 that effectively keeps it away from these car focused one's.

[Lasssept]

Kemal Sengul


Joe Portlock

[Lasssept]

[AR3-GP]