In Miami Mercedes is once again the victim of the usual problems. Sprint qualifying saw both Hamilton and Russell left out of Q3, having trouble with tire temperatures at the decisive moment, and then not getting beyond seventh and eighth place in the main qualifying. This complicates the judgment on important updates to the debut in Floridadesigned with the aim not to improve the absolute potential of the W15, but to put it in a position to express it with greater simplicity.
New fund
Mercedes presents itself in the United States with important renovations to the fund, therefore intervening in the most important area of the cars’ ground effect. As always, the changes are not all noticeable from the outside, remaining hidden under the car, with the exception of the side edge. At Brackley it was decided to evolve the end-2023 setting, widening the central rise which acts as a lateral diffuser to extract the flows externally to the bottom, generating load directly at the center of the machine.
In addition to the larger exit section, we note the increase in vortex generators from 2 to 5, useful both for encouraging the local extraction of flows and for counteracting external turbulence. Mercedes thus continues to focus on a fairly aggressive geometry for the edge of the floor, atypical when compared with the solutions of its direct competition.
Load to redistribute
The latest races have shown how the problem of the W15 does not only lie in the fast corners, which were so difficult in Jeddah and Melbourne, but rather in the compromise between the low and high mileage sections. In fact, in Florida Hamilton and Russell also experienced significant delays in the second sector, partly caused by the low top speeds on the long straight, but also by the difficulties in the slow and tortuous central toboggan, highlighting an aerodynamic balance which, however, does not go well with the mechanical one.
It is therefore reasonable to imagine that the primary objective of the updates brought to Miami is not an increase in the peak aerodynamic load, but rather its redistribution. In fact, after the Australian Grand Prix Toto Wolff explained how the W15, despite having 20% more load than the 2024 car, was not equally faster, a symptom of difficulty in translating the increase in load into improvements on the stopwatch.
The inconsistency of performance, balance and driving problems also have repercussions on the difficulties in stabilizing tire pressures and temperatures, which tend to overheat following slips and the many corrections on the steering wheel. With the first update package we aim to widen the window of use of the single-seater, from which the W15 continues to emerge with extreme ease. Even in Miami, both drivers were satisfied with the balance in the first free practices, but the subsequent evolution of the track destabilized the initial balance. “We opted to make relatively minor changes before sprint qualifying, aiming to preserve those qualities in the afternoon session”Andrew Shovlin explained on Friday. “Unfortunately, as we have seen on several occasions this year, we were not able to make the leap forward that others did in the session that counted.”
Temperature alarm
It is therefore not surprising that the package of developments brought to Miami includes another new feature useful for managing the balance of the car outside parc fermé. A new adjustable flap is now available for the front wing, which is more streamlined even when compared to the one used on the super-fast Jeddah. It’s a Mercedes looking for more adjustment options to bring the mechanical balance closer to the aerodynamic one, as well as to stabilize tire pressures and temperatures.
Also worth noting is how hot they were in Florida open additional cooling grills directly on the ramp of the slide bellies, dirtying the flows collected in the direction of the rear axle. High temperatures are a problem for everyone in Miami, but Mercedes stands out for a more open cooling configuration than the competition, intent on preventing the overheating problems that had already compromised the race in Bahrain.
