Mercedes W13

[saviour stivala]

About time they show some real progress as their nearest finish to the leaders in the last race was three quarters of a second behind for number 44 and a full second for number 63.

[Just_a_fan]

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... -upgrades/
Engineers say the best upgrade is yet to come.. and its gonna be secret

That will work well in the era of “show & tell”…

We've seen teams say "changes to X" to "improve performance" in the show and tell. Pretty easy to hide what's been done when that is all that's required.

[Shakeman]

"Our best upgrade will be one you don't see,"

This is the auto translation, which seems to be doing a lot of work to become a 'secret upgrade' if the translation is accurate. My German is limited to badly counting to ten and the phrases I learned from the Victor comic in my childhood, 'Gott im Himmel!' so I can't verify...

[Tekniko]

"Our best upgrade will be one you don't see,"

This is the auto translation, which seems to be doing a lot of work to become a 'secret upgrade' if the translation is accurate. My German is limited to badly counting to ten and the phrases I learned from the Victor comic in my childhood, 'Gott im Himmel!' so I can't verify...

I am German and cam confirm that this translation is correct.

[torpor]

So that Artical in a credible serious German magazine AMuS sounds very optimistic for Mercedes. They write that the gap to Ferrari is much closer than it looked in Spielberg. There seems to be no reason to change the concept.

<< Bouncing is no longer an issue at all. The findings are now being incorporated into upgrades that will come to the W13 in the next two races. Visually not necessarily spectacular, but highly efficient, according to the team. "Our best upgrade will be one that is invisible,“ say the engineers mysteriously.
Paul Ricard plays Mercedes into the cards. It's almost the ideal terrain. Fluid curves, smooth surface. If the Silver Arrows also get halfway over the bumps of the Hungaroring, then victories after the summer break are no longer an illusion. >>

[djones]

Take this with a pinch of salt, but I read on another forum that for Spa there is a big upgrade and a new engine.

Add in the TD changes and we might actually see the first legitimate win on pure pace for Mercedes.

[chrisc90]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

[mkay]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

MGU-K hasn't been homologated yet - which is what the news have been referring to. I imagine all 4 PU manufacturers will upgrade the K-unit prior to the deadline of 1 Sep 2022.

Also, reliability improvements remain allowed on homologated PU parts (ICE, MGU-H, TC) but I think it is subject to review/agreement by all other PU manufacturers + FIA?

[ringo]

So I was wondering.. Could Redbull have a sprung floor? and is this allowed by the regulations?
A sprung and damped floor could greatly reduce the impact of bounding and porpoising. Instead of depending solely on the suspension to deal with the porpoising, a suspension can be rigged into the floor.
Those same brackets that we see in the floor of the redbull behind the sidepods may well be damped.
We have already seen the spring and damper in the keel.
Added to that running rake in the car simplifies bouncing as the car will touch down on the keel first before the rear squats to the ground.
I think Mercedes need to investigate this and implement it. Soften the cars suspension and install a suspension in the floor, so that there is a degree of freedom between the floor and chassis under extreme loads.

Looks like the FIA are catching on... I had my suspicions as far back as June. The hens will come home to roost for redbull and ferrari. So much for bashing the zeropods. The car may well be the fastest after the FIA clamps down.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-wolf ... -breaches/

“Some teams have skids that actually disappear when the car hits the bottom [of the ground],” Wolff told reporters,

“The reason for skids is they are the limitation of how much [wear of the board] you can have. If the skid can disappear miraculously into the floor, that’s clearly against the regulations.

“Then the second thing is there is a plank that can deflect, or that basically also moves away more than the tolerance should be.

“The tolerance is one millimetre and if a plank moves away many more millimetres up into the car, obviously you gain some performance there too.

[OO7]

Excellent call Ringo!
Looks like you pretty much nailed it or at the very least suspected the exact same methods of potential exploitation the F.I.A have.

[PlatinumZealot]

"Our best upgrade will be one you don't see,"

This is the auto translation, which seems to be doing a lot of work to become a 'secret upgrade' if the translation is accurate. My German is limited to badly counting to ten and the phrases I learned from the Victor comic in my childhood, 'Gott im Himmel!' so I can't verify...

There is no Mercedes quote from that page so be doubtful!

[Just_a_fan]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

Reliability upgrades are possible. If you're running your ICE slightly below its power level because of a reliability issue, sorting that issue would bring performance and would be legal.

[chrisc90]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

Reliability upgrades are possible. If you're running your ICE slightly below its power level because of a reliability issue, sorting that issue would bring performance and would be legal.

Do reliability upgrades not have to be warranted though? As in there has been a number of problems with xyz component or the engine has failed in the same way a couple times

[sosic2121]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

Reliability upgrades are possible. If you're running your ICE slightly below its power level because of a reliability issue, sorting that issue would bring performance and would be legal.

Actually, there was a story that ferrari ran their first PU with lower power level and if everything goes OK, they will increase the power with second PU. I have no idea at what level they could be now

[Just_a_fan]

Aren’t engines homologated?
Certainly won’t see a power increase.

Reliability upgrades are possible. If you're running your ICE slightly below its power level because of a reliability issue, sorting that issue would bring performance and would be legal.

Do reliability upgrades not have to be warranted though? As in there has been a number of problems with xyz component or the engine has failed in the same way a couple times

I've no idea, but the teams are well versed in gaming the rules so if they can, they will.